-Chasing the Wind-
By J. Austin Wilde
Fission Park Press
J. Austin Wilde, K.B.C.S.
Minister of Propaganda and
Super Critical Reactor Axe Man
Fission Park Press
jaustin@aloha.net
Synopsis:
A group of scientists arrive in Nerima armed with arrays of strange
white boxes. They claim to be conducting a survey of the neighborhood
power lines, but Nabiki suspects that there is more going on. She enlists
the aid of Ranma, but the martial artist is foiled by the return of Kuno.
Akane returns home after completing her first year of college. She
and Ranma meet in the vacant lot, which is now infested with more of
the white boxes. Nabiki gains the confidence of one the leading
researchers, and learns that they are looking for a peculiar ‘magnetic
disturbance’ that has been predicted to occur within the vacant lot.
Akane and Ranma are at ground zero when the ‘event’ occurs three
days early. Nothing appears to happen to them, but they are questioned
by the leader of the scientists, a Professor Balthazar McFogg. Hiro
Ohata returns as the Professor’s Man Friday.
The scientists leave, and peace returns to Nerima.
But as we all know, it can’t last for long...
Part Two:
Vacation Plans
Chapter One
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
“Third Platoon form a skirmish line!”
Ranma looks to Sergeant Yoshida, who circles his hand to get his
squad on their feet. Ryoga grunts something which is lost over the roar
of two Marine AV-8B Harriers as they crest the blackened hill to their
backs. Rockets spurt from underwing pods with great _pofffs!_
A radio crackles with many hurried voices. The entire Main Line of
Resistance is being thrown back by the North Koreans.
“On your feet!” Yoshida growls.
The platoon crawls out of shell craters and from under an overturned
Hummer. The rain falls as hard as the 120mm mortar bombs. Fresh clods
of mud and blinding sprays of murky water erupt around them.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
“First Platoon fall back to the next ridge line, Second follows at two-
hundred meters, Third pulls rearguard and falls back on orange smoke!”
The Old Man yells over the din. His orders are passed along with hoarse
screams as the artillery picks up the tempo.
Ranma looks to Ryoga, who nods grimly. They must hold the hill
long enough for the rest of the company to withdraw. Their own with-
drawal will be supported by the massive airstrikes and artillery barrage
that will fall on their own positions.
“First Platoon move out!”
Ranma watches them go and wishes it could be him.
The barrage drops all around them and he watches a kid he hardly
knew from Furinkan get lifted into the air. Only at apogee does he realize
that the kid has been dismembered, and his arms and head continue on
while his ragged body spirals down the muddy hill.
“Get up behind those rocks and dig in!” Yoshida barks. He is in
command now, their lieutenant having got himself recently dead.
Ranma leaps up into the rain and the explosions and runs forward to
the jagged outcropping of basalt that will shield them from the advancing
North Koreans. It won’t do anything about the mortar rounds howling in
on them with increasing accuracy, but that is a matter he can do nothing
about. He throws himself against the rock, panting hard as his heartbeat
thunders in his ears. He sees that the others have followed his lead and
are doing the same.
Now they must wait.
From the valley behind them comes a great wall of fire and smoke.
Several seconds later the ripping noise of North Korean MiG engines
assaults their ears. The squad radioman, who is in contact with First
Platoon, suddenly clutches his ears in pain.
They hear the horrible squawk of static as the radio on the other side
is engulfed in napalm.
First Platoon has just been incinerated to the man.
Someone at the end of the skirmish line lofts a shoulder launched
SAM at the fleeing MiGs, but the Stinger has no lock and corkscrews
out of sight.
“We’re never getting out of this one man!” Hiro cries.
Ranma can’t help but agree. He looks across the ruined hill to the
rest of the platoon, to the men he loves in a way no one on the outside
can understand. They look back at him, and in their own ways each
affirms the bond of brothers-in-arms. They’ll die here, but they won’t
die alone.
Then he sees something he can’t believe, something he _won’t_
believe.
But there she is.
“Akane!” He cries.
She is standing in the valley between the lines. Bullets from snipers zing
around her, kicking up fountains of spray ten feet high in the muddy water.
She is unhurt, but that can’t last.
“Akane!” He cries again. He is on his feet and sliding down the ragged
steaming hillside.
“You can’t help her Saotome!” Yoshida barks.
“Like hell!” Ranma screams in reply. He is almost to her.
She sees him and shouts his name.
It seems like every weapon in Korea is leveled against him. Explosions
throw him to the muddy ground, but he drags himself upright and slogs on.
The howl of artillery over his head is a banshee keen that he pays no heed.
Akane is almost there, so close.
Orange smoke pops from marker rounds all around him. The distant
thunder of jets rises in his ears. Akane jumps into his arms but he knows
they have only a few seconds before they are annihilated.
Fire rains from the heavens. Everything flashes to brilliant white light.
The sound dies away to a faint hum in his ears.
He is kissing Akane now in the vacant lot. She is the only person in the
universe, and he holds her with all his might. Her heart beats furiously
against his; the two merging to make one harmony.
They are now standing atop the Eiffel Tower looking out to the Left
Bank of the Seine. They are fighting, but he isn’t sure whom. Akane is
pushed off the rail and falls. He jumps after her, and they fall down down
down...
“UUUHHHHAAAAHHH!”
Ranma sat bolt upright in his futon. A sheen of cold sweat slicked his
hands and brow. His heart took a few moments to calm, and his left arm
throbbed at the bullet wound scar.
“Oh jeez... It’s just a nightmare.” He said, more for the want of saying
anything rather than what he felt.
The clock ticked away the time. It was half past four.
He got up from the futon and looked out the window. The early
morning sky was clear and dark. The moon was setting, it’s glow just
visible through the trees.
**I need a drink,** he thought. His mouth was desert dry.
He walked downstairs and into the kitchen. After downing two large
glasses of water in rapid succession he walked into the living room and sat
down. The room was dark and quiet, which suited him for the moment.
**I don’t think I’ll be getting any more sleep tonight.**
The sound of bare feet padding down the stairs was quite audible in the
still of the house.
**It’s a little early for Kasumi to be getting up,** Ranma thought.
He peeked around the corner to see Akane in a little nightshirt walk
sleepily down the stairs. She looked miserable. She walked into the kitchen
and poured herself a few glasses of water, then came out into the living
room.
Ranma was seated again, giving her a tired but sympathetic look.
“You have a nightmare too?” He asked.
Akane sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“The worst,” she replied. He could see the tracks of drying tears on
her face.
He brushed at her matted hair softly. “You okay?”
She sighed tiredly. “Yeah, I guess so...It was just so real!”
“What happened, um, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She sighed again. “I was lost. It was raining and voices were shouting at
me from nowhere and the thunder was so loud I thought I was going to go
deaf. Then I saw you come running towards me...” She drew breath to
continue speaking. “And then you were hit by lightning.”
He brushed at her hair again, not having anything he could say to her.
“And then we were, um, well you know, kissing. Like yesterday in the
vacant lot.”
**Huh?** Ranma thought suddenly.
“And then we were fighting on the Eiffel Tower of all places--”
“--And you fell off and I jumped after you.” Ranma finished.
Akane gasped. She looked up at him in disbelief.
“How did you know?”
Ranma was silent a moment before answering.
“Because I had the exact same dream you did.”
Chapter Two
Kasumi came downstairs at dawn to make breakfast. She had a date to
go shopping with her friends early, so she wanted to get the little chores of
running a household done without delay. She walked into the living room to
take a look at the weather outside and found Ranma and Akane there.
They were asleep. Akane knelt in Ranma’s arms, her face nuzzled
against his neck. Ranma had his arms protectively around her.
**How sweet,** Kasumi thought to herself. **I guess I should just
leave them there for awhile.**
She went into the kitchen and started on breakfast. Before too long
Akane and Ranma poked their heads into the kitchen. The smell of food
had stirred them from their fitful slumber.
“Oh good morning!” Kasumi said, all smiles as usual. “I don’t mean
to pry, but don’t you think you would have been more comfortable
sleeping in your rooms?”
Ranma and Akane looked at each other and then Kasumi.
“We didn’t sleep well last night,” Akane said.
“I should think not,” Kasumi replied. “I don’t think Ranma makes for a
very good pillow.”
The two began to blush.
“We both had nightmares!” Ranma protested. We came downstairs to
get a drink of water and just sort of fell asleep in the living room together.”
“Well I guess you both had a very excitable day yesterday,” Kasumi
observed. “And you did stay up too late.”
Nabiki made her way into the kitchen. She was wearing a set of black
silk pajamas. She too was afflicted with ‘morning hair’.
“Seeing you two up so early is a strange sight indeed,” she remarked.
“Good morning Nabiki!” Kasumi said as she set the rice in the steamer.
“Good morning Kasumi,” Nabiki returned. “If I could get a cup of
tea with some honey in it, that would be just wonderful.”
Kasumi made her version of a frown. (i.e. the corners of her mouth
were no longer quite raised in a smile.) “Oh? You won’t be having
breakfast this morning?”
“Afraid not sis. I have a taxi to catch. Shareholders meeting this
morning. I’ll grab something to eat downtown.”
Kasumi sighed. “Coming right up.”
Nabiki regarded Ranma and Akane, who stood side by side in the
kitchen by the door.
“I heard some really interesting noises last night from you two,” she
whispered conspiratorially.
“We didn’t do anything!” Akane protested with a hiss.
“Yeah, we just didn’t get much sleep last night,” Ranma added.
Nabiki smirked. “Think about what you just said and then put yourself
in my place.”
They both winced.
Kasumi handed Nabiki a steaming cup of tea.
“Here you are Nabiki. I put a little extra honey in it, the way you like it.”
Nabiki sipped gently at the cup. “Sis you are too wonderful for words.”
Ranma decided to wait for breakfast in the living room. Akane followed
after a moment. She sat down next to him out on the deck facing the garden.
“I don’t understand how we could have the same dream,” she said
quietly.
“Me neither,” Ranma replied. “I mean, I’ve had a few nightmares about
the war since I came home, but I figured that was kinda expected... But
this.”
“We’ve never even been to Paris,” Akane continued. “And when I
looked out across the city in my dream I recognized places. Like I had
been there.”
“No kidding, I was thinkin' the same thing.”
* * *
“AAAAHHHHH!!!”
Akane sat up in her futon trembling. Seconds earlier she had been
standing in some kind of temple atop a great step pyramid. Men in robes
of colored feathers and skin painted black raised bone knives to the sun
before plunging them into Ranma’s chest.
When the blades sunk into his flesh there was a sudden gust of wind
and a feeling of energy and power coursed through her. For just a
moment she reveled in his sacrifice, overcome with the incredible
sensations that whipped through her body.
That was when she woke up. Fresh tears cascaded down her face.
**How could I feel that way?** She cried in her mind.
She got up and went to Ranma’s room. She could hear him panting
for breath.
“Ranma?”
His voice was hoarse, as if he wasn’t sure if he could speak.
“Y-Yeah?”
Akane let herself in.
“You’re okay?” She asked.
Ranma’s eyes were red and puffy. He shuddered once and tried to
collect himself.
“Yeah...Let me guess, you had another nightmare. One where you were
watching me get sacrificed by some freaks in feathered robes. In my dream
I watched the same thing happen to you.”
Akane’s knees began to buckle. He caught her and eased her down to
his futon. She held onto him and sobbed just once.
“How is this happening?” She whispered.
He gave her a comforting squeeze. “I wish I knew.”
“What are we going to do?”
His hands brushed at her hair. “I don’t know.”
* * *
“You guys look terrible,” Ukyo observed.
Ranma rubbed at his aching head. The migraines had been coming every
few hours. He supposed the lack of decent sleep he was experiencing was
responsible. Akane mumbled something that neither he nor Ukyo
understood.
“Are you sick or something?” Ukyo asked. “I have a few home
remedies for summer colds.”
“Thanks Ukyo,” Akane managed. “But I don’t think it’s a cold.”
Ukyo patted both of their heads. “Well I’ll see what I can do anyway.”
“You have anything to help you sleep?” Ranma asked.
Ukyo looked puzzled. “Is that what’s wrong with you two? You’re
having trouble sleeping?”
“Well, not really trouble sleeping. It’s just that we keep having
nightmares.” Akane said.
“We?” Ukyo asked. “You mean you’re both having nightmares?”
“Worse,” Ranma said. “We’re both having the _same_ nightmares.”
“What?”
“It’s been going on for a week now!” Akane lamented. “We dream of
these weird places where we’ve never been and all these horrible things
happen to us.”
Ukyo’s brow furrowed in thought. “If I didn’t know better I’d say
someone put the bad mojo on you two.”
“Who would do such a thing?” Akane cried.
**Boy does she have a short memory,** Ukyo thought.
“Someone who would stand to gain by seeing you two suffer I guess.”
“Kodachi?” Ranma asked.
“Could be, but this doesn’t seem to be within her talents. This is way
too subtle and insidious, even for her.” Ukyo replied.
“Shampoo?” Akane offered.
Ukyo shrugged. “Maybe. Who knows what she might have whipped up
to make your lives miserable. She does know about all kinds of potions and
what not.”
“Perhaps we should have a talk with Shampoo,” Akane said tersely.
“Do you really think she’d admit to it if she was responsible?” Ranma
asked. “No, I think we should pay a visit to Doctor Tofu. Maybe he can
help us get a good night’s sleep.”
* * *
They went to the Cat Cafe anyway. Akane led the way, and Ranma's
head hurt too much to risk an argument with her. He just wondered what
would happen if Akane wanted a reckoning with Shampoo.
He decided to go in first.
Mousse was wiping down a table. His glasses were squared away on his
face for once, so he actually recognized Ranma when he saw him. The look
he gave Ranma was less than hospitable at first, but when he came in with
Akane in tow, it softened considerably.
"Howya doin', Mousse?" Ranma offered.
Mousse wasn't sure what to make of Ranma's visit. He was actually
starting to get somewhere with Shampoo, and the last thing he needed was
for his true love to get confused again about her affections. He decided to
play it cool, and hopefully Ranma would leave on his own.
"I've been all right," Mousse replied.
"That's good," Ranma said.
"I almost didn't recognize you. Your hair is still a lot shorter than I'm
used to."
Ranma brushed at his head. "Yeah, it's just not growing in as fast as I'd
like." It wasn't quite true, as all he had to do was untie the binding hair on
his pig-tail and he would have more hair than he'd know what to do with. It
was just something to say.
Akane was now tired of this small talk.
"Is Shampoo here?" She asked tersely.
Mousse affected a puzzled look. **What does Akane want with my
beloved Shampoo?**
"Um, she's out on a delivery right now," he replied.
Ranma started to take Akane by the arm, "Well thanks a lot Mousse! I
guess we'll be going now."
Akane slipped off his grasp. "We'll wait," she growled.
**Oh boy...** Ranma thought blackly.
Mousse remembered his manners and showed them to a table. He
took Ranma's reluctance to stay as a good sign. **Now what's Akane's
problem?**
"Can I get you anything while you wait?" He asked.
"Water please," Ranma said. He produced a small bottle of aspirin
from his pocket.
"Coming right up," Mousse replied. He slipped behind the counter and
into the kitchen.
"Honestly Ranma, what were you thinking trying to leave without
confronting her?" Akane asked him.
"I was trying to prevent a war. I don't think my head could take it." He
answered. He rubbed at his temples for added effect. "Besides, we don't
have any proof that she's the one doing this to us."
"That's what we're here to find out," Akane said evenly.
They waited for twenty minutes. Mousse brought both of them glasses
of water and left them alone. Ranma gulped down three or four aspirin
and lay his head on the table to sleep. Whatever was fueling Akane's ire
was running low, and she was soon asleep next to him.
**What's the matter with those two?** Mousse wondered.
He didn't get the chance to ponder his question, because Shampoo
bounced in the front door a moment later in all her purple-haired glory. She
balanced her delivery box deftly upon one finger.
"Nihao Mousse!" She effervesced. "I home!"
Mousse grimaced.
Shampoo cast him a doubtful glance. **Why isn't Mousse happy to see
me?**
Akane sat bolt upright. The swiftness of her motion stirred Ranma to
bleary-eyed wakefulness.
Shampoo saw them sitting together at the table. Her eyes fell upon
Ranma, who was handsome even in his red-eyed insomnia. Her heart
trembled for just a moment, and she didn't know what to say.
On the other hand, neither did Akane. Her brain felt like a fuzzy mitten
was wrapped around it. Her body ached for a little more of the sleep she
had stolen during the wait.
And so the three stood or sat and stared at each other without a word
between them, while Mousse looked on in silent horror.
Finally Ranma broke the silence with a yawn. "Yo Shampoo, how're ya
doing today?"
The spell broken, Shampoo fairly glowed at him.
"Nihao Ranma! I so happy to see you!" She was ready to glomp onto
him, but Akane was shooting her a death look that intimidated even the
First of the Amazons. Akane was also beaming death thoughts to Ranma
for being even the least bit civil to Shampoo, but he was too tired to pick
up on the sudden nervous tensions emitted by her.
He waved uneasily and tried to smile. He yawned instead.
Shampoo frowned. "Why you and Akane look so tired?"
This was all the catalyst Akane needed.
"Yeah," she began, her blood beginning to boil. "Why _do_ we look
so tired?"
Shampoo put her hands on her hips. "I not know why, Akane." She
offered a feline smile for her. "Perhaps you need get more sleep?"
Ranma was sure he heard something snap inside Akane's head.
Something _important._
"It's all your fault!" Akane screeched. Her voice spiraled to levels high
into the ultrasonic. Mousse started in panic as the lenses of his glasses
began to vibrate. Ranma clutched at his ears, expecting blood to drain out
between his fingers.
Shampoo was unfazed.
"What my fault?" She asked in a calm voice.
Akane trembled. "What are you doing to us? We keep having
nightmares and we can't get any sleep!" Tears began to spill down her
face in frustration.
Shampoo looked at them with a mixture of sympathy and confusion.
"I really not know what you talking about Akane. This first time I see
you and Ranma in long while."
Ranma stood up and put his hands on Akane's shoulders. She
seemed ready to collapse. He took hold of her gently, and his show
of concern for Akane was not lost on Shampoo or Mousse.
"I'm sorry about this Shampoo. We're both really on edge right
now. Thanks anyway." He said, and steered Akane towards the door.
Shampoo returned his tired look with one of affection. "Is okay Ranma.
I forgive."
Ranma threw her a jaunty wave. "Thanks again."
"Ranma?" Shampoo asked.
"Yeah?"
"If you need, I can ask Great Grandmother about remedy to help you
and Akane sleep. Is no trouble."
"Thanks Shampoo. I really appreciate that. We're going to go see Doctor
Tofu right now, but if that doesn't work out we'll be back."
Shampoo waved good-bye as they walked out of the cafe.
Mousse came up behind her and set his hands upon her shoulders. She
started for just a moment, then relaxed as he began to massage her gently.
"<What do you suppose is wrong with them?>" She asked in Chinese.
"<Not a clue,>" he replied.
"<Strange isn't it?>" She asked softly. "<It's strange seeing them together
like that, I never thought I'd see it.>"
"<Me neither,>" Mousse replied, secretly happy to have the two gone.
"<I saw you looking at me then, were you worried that I'd forget?>"
Mousse was silent.
"<I guess I understand.>" Shampoo said quietly. "<I imagine I would
be a little worried too if the tables were turned.>"
"<I was getting used to the ways things are, not the way they used to
be,>" he said at length. She purred as he rubbed at her neck and shoulders
a little more firmly.
"<I think I'll ask Great Grandmother to look into it,>" Shampoo said idly.
"<But first I'm going to give you just ninety minutes to stop that.>"
* * *
When Ranma and Akane arrived, Doctor Tofu was expecting them.
"There you are!" He cried. "I was expecting you a little sooner. Kasumi
said you had left over an hour ago."
Ranma shrugged. "We got a little side-tracked."
Tofu gestured to his examining table. "Who wants to go first? Akane?"
Akane was drifting off to sleep standing up. She leaned heavily against
Ranma's side.
"I'll go," Ranma said. "Let's just put Akane down somewhere and let her
sleep."
Tofu showed them to a couch in the waiting room. Ranma set Akane
gently upon the couch and lightly kissed her temple. She mumbled
something affectionate and drifted off again.
With Akane settled, Ranma hopped up onto the table.
"So what seems to be the trouble?" Tofu asked. "Kasumi tells me you
and Akane have been having nightmares every night."
"That's pretty much it. They get so bad that we can't get any decent
sleep. As soon as we start dreaming the nightmares start."
"How long has this been going on?"
"A week. Ever since Akane came home from college."
Tofu pulled out a legal pad from a desk. "Could you tell me about your
nightmares?"
Ranma was expecting this. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Well most of mine are about the war. I keep reliving stuff I did there,
things I saw, things I went through. I just figured that was pretty normal for
a survivor."
Tofu nodded. "Did you have a lot of nightmares about the war before all
of this?"
"Not a lot. Just every now and then. It was no big deal."
"You said most of your dreams were about the war. What about the
others?"
Ranma thought a moment. Most of those dreams were so fuzzy and half-
remembered he wasn't sure what he'd experienced.
"They're all really weird. Me and Akane are in all these places we've
never been before. Usually terrible things are happening to us. Those are
the dreams we end up sharing."
"Sharing?" Tofu asked. Kasumi hadn't told him anything about this.
"Yeah, we'd wake up and either one of us can tell what dream the
other had. That's the really spooky part about all of this."
Tofu scribbled some notes on the pad. "Let me get this clearly. You
say that you and Akane are having the same dreams simultaneously?"
"Yeah, didn't I just say that?"
Tofu got up from his chair and went to a bookshelf. He thumbed
through a few dusty old books, an ivory scroll case with several
yellowed scraps of parchment that looked ready to crumble, and a ratty
old spiral bound notebook his father had kept.
"To be honest Ranma, this sounds more like a problem for a
psychologist than a medical doctor."
"I'm not crazy!" Ranma protested. "Getting there maybe, but I'm not
crazy!"
"I didn't say you were," Tofu said by way of apology. "I just said that
this sounds like something a psychologist should handle. You could be
suffering from some kind of post-traumatic disorder."
"Because of the war?" Ranma asked.
"It's possible."
"Then why is Akane having nightmares too?"
Tofu thought a moment. "I understand how close you and Akane really
are. It's possible she may be picking this up from you through some form of
empathy. Again, it's really not my area of experience; you should probably
be referred to a psychologist. I have a friend who has a practice nearby. I
could set up a consultation."
"Look I already said I'm not crazy!" Ranma barked. His fatigue was only
fueling his irritability.
"There is one more thing I can do for you as your doctor," Tofu said
calmly. "I can help you get some needed sleep."
"Sleeping pills don't stop the nightmares," Ranma advised. "They just
make them worse."
"You know me better than that," Tofu scolded. "Now get your shirt and
trousers off and I'll give you an exam. There may be a somatic effect other
than your lack of sleep at work here."
Ranma did as he was told and stripped down to his boxers. Tofu worked
his hands across Ranma's body, keen fingers feeling out centers of tension at
the ganglia and the plexi. He worked his way along the spine from the end to
the base of the head; from the spine outward to the nerve endings in the
hands and feet. Each time his fingers played across Ranma's flesh he
clucked in astonishment.
"What is it doc?" Ranma asked.
"There's something very peculiar here," Tofu replied.
"What is it?"
Tofu pressed his fingers hard into the small of Ranma's back. Ranma
exhaled hard.
"Hmmm..." Tofu murmured.
"Come on doc, what is it?" Ranma pleaded.
"Have you been experiencing any problems in your martial arts studies?"
Tofu asked.
"Yeah. I thought it was because I wasn't getting any sleep."
"Problems with focus?"
"Yeah."
"That must be it," Tofu concluded. He consulted another shelf of books.
Ranma sat up. "'Scuse me doc, but are you gonna tell what the _hell's_
going on or do I have to get violent?"
"Your ki is very badly out of balance," Tofu said as he thumbed through
more books. "I've never seen a man so far out of balance, particularly a
martial artist."
"How did that happen?"
"Well usually the only exterior stimuli that could cause this would be
some kind of injury, but you seem to be in perfect health. I'm going to
give Akane a similar examination and see what I find. If you would be so
kind as to fetch her please?" He buried his nose in another crusty old book.
"Yeah, sure." Ranma replied. He wasn't sure what to make of the
doctor's prognosis.
Akane came in looking a little better than she had at the Cat Cafe.
Tofu was quick and thorough in his examination. He shook his head in
puzzlement.
"This is extraordinary," he said to himself.
"What, she's out of whack too?" Ranma asked.
"What are you two talking about?" Akane grouched.
"Not only is her ki out of balance, it is completely opposite in respect to
you, Ranma."
"Weird," he replied, the best he could come up with.
"Hello, will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Akane asked.
Tofu regarded the two with a serious look. "I'm not sure how, but
something has skewed your ki in ways directly opposite of the other. Having
your ki so badly out of alignment is undoubtedly what is causing your
nightmares. Your opposite polarities might even explain why you are sharing
them."
"How did this happen? What can we do to fix this?" Ranma asked.
Tofu shook his head. "I can't say how this might have happened. As for
fixing it, I still have no ideas. The time-honored ways of meditative
purification and introspection may not work, and I doubt you would have
the presence of mind to perform them in your present condition."
"So what are we going to do, doctor?" Akane asked. There was a sense
of hopelessness in her voice.
Tofu thought hard.
"I have an idea for a quick fix, but if we don't learn the cause of this
problem, finding a more permanent solution may be impossible."
"Go on," Ranma said.
"Your ki's are skewed in opposite respects to each other," Tofu began.
"Together however, you are balanced and whole. I would recommend
spending as much time in close proximity as possible. Physical contact
would be even better. Especially if you are trying to go to sleep."
"Physical contact?" Akane asked.
"Touching each other. Holding hands or some other casual contact. That
shouldn't be any problem for you, should it?" He teased.
"Um, no," they both said sheepishly.
"I'll continue researching this and get back to you as soon as I can.
There may be someone in the profession who has experience in these
matters. If there is, I'll find them. I promise you."
"This won't cure us?" Ranma asked.
"No. This is only a remedy for the symptoms. If we don't correct the
cause you two won't be able to let the other out of your sight for the rest
of your lives. Unless you both want to be basket cases!" He said, making
a joke of this last part.
Somehow Ranma and Akane didn't quite see the humor in this.
"I'm sorry, but this is the best I can do for you at the moment," Tofu
offered. "If you go on like this you’ll only fall ill...At the least you should
be able to get some sleep. In fact I would recommend that as soon as
possible."
Ranma sighed tiredly. "Sure thing doc, thanks for your help."
Tofu looked up from another dusty tome. "Get plenty of rest. If we're
ever to find the cause behind this, I need both of you mentally alert. Now
go, doctor's orders!"
"Going, we're going," Ranma managed. Akane was latched onto his
arm, and they walked out of the clinic.
Tofu ran his hands down his face.
**Sleep well, kids. This may take awhile...**
* * *
Ranma and Akane returned home. Kasumi was waiting for them with
lunch. Mister Tendo smoked a cigarette nervously.
"So, what did the good doctor say to you?" Tendo asked.
"He said something about our ki's being skewed or something. He's
working on it." Ranma replied sleepily. He didn't know how much longer
he was going to stay ambulatory.
"How awful," Kasumi said, full of sympathy.
"We're going to try to sleep for awhile," Akane said.
"G'night," Ranma added.
They both trudged up the stairs. Kasumi and Mister Tendo watched
them go.
Kasumi looked to her father when they were out of sight. "I do hope
they'll be all right."
Ranma and Akane reached the top of the stairs.
"Your room or mine?" Ranma asked.
Akane looked at him strangely.
"What?" she asked with a yawn.
"You want to sleep in your room or mine?" Ranma repeated.
"Mine of course," Akane replied without thinking about it.
"Whatever," Ranma answered. He led her to her room and opened the
door. Her little twin size bed awaited them. Somewhere in the back of his
mind he knew there would have to be contact a little more than 'casual' if
they both wanted to sleep on that bed. He was also too tired to care about it.
Akane plopped down on the bed. Ranma started to lay down next to her,
and she looked at him in ire.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" She asked.
"What does it look like?" He replied tersely.
"It looks like you're trying to sleep in the same bed as me," Akane said
icily.
Ranma shook his head. "Weren't you awake when Doctor Tofu told us
what we had to do when we went to sleep? He said we had to be in close
proximity, physical contact preferred. Or do you want these nightmares to
continue?"
Akane sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a little nervous about this."
Ranma shrugged. "It's not like we'd be... You know, _sleeping_
together or anything. I mean, we hold each other's hands and it doesn't
bother you. Besides we'll both be out cold in no time."
She nodded in agreement. "I guess we'd be more comfortable on your
futon then."
She got up and led him into his room. Nabiki had been observing all of
this from her room, and she scratched her head in puzzlement.
**They can't be...Although that would explain why they're so tired all
the time. Ah young love. In broad daylight with everyone home no less!**
Ranma walked into the room and began pulling off his clothes by
force of habit. When he stripped down to his boxers he dropped like a
stone to the futon, which hadn't been stowed since his attempt at sleep
the previous night. Akane looked at his lean muscular form and swallowed
hard.
"Um, I'll be back in a minute," she said. Then she stepped out of the
room. She nearly bounced off her sister who had come creeping down the
hall for a closer look.
If Akane had a bit more presence of mind, she might have realized
what Nabiki was up to. Instead she cried, "Oops! I'm sorry Nabiki."
Nabiki nearly jumped out of her skin. Realizing that Akane was totally
out to lunch, she composed herself.
"Just answer me once question sis," Nabiki said voice full of concern.
"I know you're going to sleep with Ranma, but tell me you're taking
certain, ah, _precautions?_"
Akane yawned fiercely, nodding and waving her off. "Uh huh."
Nabiki nodded in return. "I feel better about that. I just don't want
something embarrassing to happen you know."
Akane went into her room and came back into the hallway several
minutes later wearing her little yellow cat pajamas.
She pulled at the fabric of her pajamas. "Satisfied?" She asked Nabiki
sleepily.
"Huh?" Nabiki spluttered.
"Good night sis," Akane said, and went into Ranma's room. She closed
the door behind her, leaving Nabiki wondering out in the hall.
Akane settled in next to Ranma, who stirred long enough to make a little
room for her.
"Good night Ranma," she whispered close to his ear.
He murmured some reply. She lay an arm around him and curled up to
sleep, smiling slightly to herself when he took the hand that lay over him in
his own.
Chapter Three
"Professor, we have a problem." Katy Price announced.
McFogg looked up from his copy of The Times with measured concern.
"What is it?"
"It's the model," Katy began. "It's current predictions aren't making any
sense."
McFogg frowned. "We're trying to quantify phantoms and yet you tell
me something doesn't make sense? Nonsense. You just don't know what
sense to apply to it."
Katy handed him a report because she didn't have a suitable reply for the
Professor. She might go 'round and 'round with Ferguson on this, but the
Professor had a way of disarming her every argument.
McFogg studied the report for several minutes, sipping on a cup of tea as
he did so.
"Ah. I think we must defer to Ferguson's corrections in this matter.
Perhaps Mister Clay may also be able to shed some light on this." He said
at length.
He tapped at a small black box on his belt. Hiro Ohata appeared a
moment later.
"What's up, Professor?" Hiro asked.
"See if you can fetch Misters Ferguson and Clay please. It is very urgent
that I speak with them." McFogg said.
"Sure thing boss," Hiro replied. He was gone in a flash.
"You're growing overly fond of that 'Kato' of yours," Katy observed.
"How so?" McFogg returned.
"You never used to trust anything personally important to you to just
anyone."
"Nonsense, I tolerate you and the rest of this motley crew."
Katy clucked disparagingly at this. "I think you're intolerable most of the
time," she said.
"Hell and breakfast woman, we're talking about fifty years of my life for
this," he said to her. "I can be as intolerable as I damn well please!"
"Very well Professor. I shall wait here for now -if that won't make you
any more dyspeptic than you already are."
Ferguson and Clay weren't long in coming.
"I already heard the news," Ferguson crowed. He was quite happy to be
proven right about the model's fallacies.
"This isn't time to gloat, Ferg," Katy admonished.
"I think I've earned it," Ferguson replied.
"Gloat later," McFogg said sternly. "Right now we need to get back on
track. Have you calculated corrections for the Nerima Event?"
Ferguson nodded. "For what they're worth. I think the best we can
achieve with them is a fifty percent reduction in the error margins. That
still leaves us searching over an area five kilometers square with a window
of plus or minus two days."
"Unacceptable," McFogg said evenly.
"It may be enough for me to localize it," Clay said at length. The
scientist was as maverick as they came; having degrees in history,
archeology, and parapsychology. McFogg had recruited him from a
fringe group searching for ghosts and proof of life after death -typical
tabloid fare, and the Fleet Street press paid well even if most of it was
unsubstantiated bunk. Clay's group was one of the few that was
actually trying to be legitimate.
Nevertheless, he was considered a crackpot by most of McFogg's team.
"I can go on ahead if you like and try to pin down likely junctions. Try
to get a 'feel' for the area as it were."
"It might work, but which place do we start?" Katy said. "The model
has three predictions possible, but none of the three are any better than
the other two."
McFogg selected one, although he didn't tell them how he arrived at his
decision. He pointed to it on the large wall map.
"There or nothing," he said to them.
Katy and Ferguson nodded and went off to set up for the next outing.
Clay stayed behind to talk to McFogg.
"You approve?" McFogg asked.
Clay nodded. "Precognition has never been one of my strong suits, but
I feel that would be the best choice."
"Excellent."
Clay worked his hands along the old mahogany table between them. "It's
a pity you can't tell them why you really keep me around."
McFogg finished his cup of tea. "They wouldn't understand. If they can't
quantify it or reproduce it in a lab than it can't exist. I think Ferguson is only
now beginning to appreciate what he's dealing with, but Katy and the others
are still locked in their little prisons of reason."
"Riemann destroyed Euclid's stranglehold on mathematics," Clay
observed.
"Yes but it took two-thousand years to get to that point. That and a
mathematical eloquence that denied the opportunity to reproach. We do
not have that eloquence. Nor will we unless we succeed in this endeavor."
Clay nodded. "I feel as if we are being denied a key to this lock. There
has to be something out there that can open the doors for us."
"It's too late to start looking, Clay."
"Perhaps. Perhaps we've found it and just missed it for what it was."
* * *
The sounds of birds chirping and the gentle rustle of leaves in the wind
roused Ranma to wakefulness. He slowly opened his eyes. It was morning
again, meaning he had slept all of yesterday afternoon clear through until
the next day.
Akane stirred beside him. She was sprawled out on the futon, an arm
and a leg laying over him. When he tried to sit up she held him down with
her arm and curled up close to him.
**Guess I'll just lay here for awhile,** he thought idly. He still felt
exhausted, but he had spent the last eighteen hours sleeping like a stone.
No nightmares had plagued him; Doctor Tofu's prognosis was proving
correct.
He dozed on and off for a little while, his mind wandering down
countless avenues of thought. **How could this have happened to us?
What's it going to take to cure us, or will this just stop in time? Why
Akane and me, and not anybody else?** And many variations on those
themes.
"Ranma, are you awake?" Akane asked sleepily by his side.
"Yeah," he replied quietly. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Did you have any nightmares?" She asked.
"No. Did you?"
Akane lifted her head to rest it upon his chest. "Nope. I slept like a
baby." She said with a wan smile.
He yawned. "I was a rock, myself."
"Then it worked," Akane concluded.
"Yup," he affirmed, having made that same conclusion earlier but not
willing to make a point of it. There were some battles you just learned to
avoid.
Akane sat up on the futon and stretched out her arms and back. He
watched her for awhile, admiring her sleepy eyed charm. Suddenly the
thought of waking up to her every morning popped into his head. It wasn't
such a bad notion either.
She caught the sudden change of his expression.
"What is it?" She asked.
Her question jolted him out of his reverie.
"Oh ah, nothin'. I was just spacing out for a minute."
"Well pull yourself together and lets go see about some breakfast. I'm
starving!" She implored.
They went downstairs. Kasumi was reading a magazine while Nabiki
sunbathed on the deck. Mister Tendo was out for a walk, as was his
custom in the morning.
"Well hello you two!" Kasumi cried happily. "The way you were asleep
for so long, I was beginning to worry."
"I guess we were out for a long time," Akane admitted.
"Doctor Tofu stopped by last night to check on you. He seemed very
happy to see you asleep. He also asked me to tell you that he hasn't found
any answers yet, but that he has talked to a colleague of his about your
problem."
"What problem would that be?" Nabiki asked from the deck.
"Oh didn't you hear?" Kasumi asked her.
"Hear what?"
"Ranma and Akane have to stay together at all times. Especially when
they sleep."
"What was that?"
Ranma and Akane began to turn red.
"That's what Doctor Tofu told me," Kasumi replied. "It sounds silly, but
he is the doctor."
"It sounds more like one of daddy's match-making schemes," Nabiki
remarked.
Ranma and Akane slipped away into the kitchen.
Later, after they had consumed a breakfast big enough for four people,
they sat on the deck deep in thought.
"I wonder if all this has something to do with that screwy science
experiment last week?" Akane asked aloud. The thought had been making
the rounds in her head all morning.
"I was kinda thinking the same," Ranma replied.
"But how would it happen? I mean, all I felt was a gust of wind." She
said.
"With all of those sensors in the lot, who knows what they were really
detecting?"
"I bet those scientists might know what happened," she opined. "They
might even know how to help us."
Ranma sighed. "Yeah, but how are we going to find them again? They
left the country the next day.
Akane clubbed him on the head with her fist. "You are such a
blockhead!" She cried.
"What?!"
"Didn't Hiro give you his card? It had a phone number on it, right?"
Ranma nodded slowly. "Yeah... Some kind of answering service, um,
voice mail I think."
"Then call him and tell him our problem. He's your friend so he'll
help, right?"
"Yeah sure. I mean I guess so."
* * *
"That's really strange," Ukyo said when they had told her of the Doctor's
prognosis.
"It doesn't make much sense, but so far he's been right," Ranma said.
Ukyo regarded the two of them sitting side by side.
"Well you both look much better than you did yesterday. Any ideas on
how it happened?"
Ranma shrugged, "Well we think it might have something to do with
that science experiment last week. You remember all those white boxes?"
A patron in the corner of the shop looked up at the two sitting at the
counter.
Ukyo smiled, "I remember all the nice scientists who ate lunch here
every day." Yen signs flashed in her eyes.
"Well those nice scientists are probably the ones who knocked our
ki's out of whack," Ranma added.
"What are you planning to do about it?"
Akane fielded this one. "We sent a message to Ranma's friend Hiro. He
works for these scientists, and hopefully he'll tell them what's happening
to us."
Ukyo raised an eyebrow in thought. "Hiro...?"
"My old army buddy," Ranma supplied.
Ukyo's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Last Christmas!" She remembered it well,
her tearful confession to Akane that Ranma had returned to combat in
Korea. They thought he was killed in the final offensive that ended the war,
only to have him and Ryoga and Hiro come home not minutes after she
confessed to Akane that she had known about him going back to fight.
"He was a nice guy, but a little crazy," she observed.
"With luck those guys he works for will believe him," Ranma said.
"So what will you do in the meantime?"
"I can't really teach classes like this," Ranma said glumly. "I'm so out
of focus right now I'd look ridiculous in a fight."
Ukyo frowned. "I thought you said you were okay if you had Akane
close by?"
Ranma smirked. "What? You think I can fight with her always hanging
on?"
Akane socked him across the jaw. He flew off his stool and landed face
first on Ukyo's freshly mopped floor.
"Well _excuuuse_ me for being in the way!"
Ukyo chuckled. "I see Akane has no problems with focus."
"That's because she's a master at being uncute; no focus required,"
Ranma lamented from the floor.
The man in the corner left a pile of yen on the table and slipped out.
Ukyo's eyes registered the money on the table and judged that it was too
much for what he'd ordered. He wasn't one of her regulars so she didn't
pay it much mind. Ranma meanwhile was waggling his tongue at Akane.
"Keep it up Ranma!" Akane yelled. She lifted him up and prepared to
heave him through the air.
"Hey! Hey! The windows aren't paid for yet!" Ukyo cried.
Akane set him down on the stool and smiled apologetically to Ukyo.
"See what I mean," he said under his breath.
"Looks like you both will just have to get used to this. Either that or you
kill each other." Ukyo said off-handedly.
"That might not be far off," Akane menaced.
"Go ahead and kill me," Ranma taunted. "And see how much sleep you
get then."
"Oh I won't kill you; just hurt you enough to make you wish you were
dead," Akane shot back.
"How long do you think it'll take for a reply?" Ukyo asked. She had the
feeling that it couldn't be soon enough.
* * *
They had been grating on each other's nerves all day. It was one thing to
be close and affectionate when you wanted to be, but having to keep close
all the time was a little fraying. The effect was having it's toll on their
patience.
They walked in the front door arguing loudly. It wasn't even an argument
anymore, just yelling and gainsaying louder than the other could.
"Was not!"
"Were too!"
"Wasn't!"
"WAS!"
"WASN'T!"
Kasumi asked them nicely if they could keep their voices down. They
ignored her and raised the ante an octave. Visibly flustered, Kasumi returned
to the kitchen.
"SHUT UP!"
"YOU SHUT UP!"
Kasumi appeared again, this time armed with a skillet. They never saw
it coming.
CLANNGG!!!
KLONNGG!!!
Both dropped like empty sacks of rice. Peace returned to the Tendo
home for a short time.
Satisfied with her handiwork, she returned to the kitchen. Before
disappearing around the corner she told them:
"Dinner will be ready shortly. You should probably wash up now."
Ranma tried to lift his head off the floor.
"Medic..." He croaked hoarsely.
* * *
Three days passed at an agonizing gait. Ranma and Akane had since
stopped speaking to each other. They kept their backs to the other
whenever possible. Their sleeping arrangements consisted of sleeping back
to back on Ranma's futon. An invisible 'line of death' existed between
them then, a gap of about six inches. Any farther apart and the nightmares
returned.
It was hard for them, but it was even harder to watch. What had seemed
to Mister Tendo that his youngest daughter and the son of his best friend
were finally going to be married was falling apart before his eyes. Kasumi
was not her usual cheery self either, the effect was wearing off on her as
well. Mister Tendo noticed as much as he watched his eldest daughter dust
the family shrine. She had none of the usual zeal today. For once it
seemed like a _chore._
"What's the matter Kasumi?" He asked at length.
Kasumi sighed. "Oh nothing, father."
"You just seem out of sorts," Tendo observed. "Are you feeling well?"
Kasumi set down her feather duster.
"I'm just a little worried about Akane and Ranma. They've been really
close since Christmas and now they can't stand the sight of each other."
Tendo nodded knowingly.
"Doctor Tofu will find a way to help them," he soothed. "Don't you
worry."
Kasumi looked down at her feet. "I've been helping Doctor Tofu search
through the medical journals and through all of his old family writings. We
haven't found anything that comes close to this."
"Well don't give up hope yet!" Tendo advised with a half hearted smile.
There was a knock at the gate. Kasumi collected herself with another
sigh and went outside to answer it.
It was a FEDEX deliveryman. He had a small box emblazoned with
words like URGENT and PRIORITY in several languages. It was addressed
to Ranma Saotome.
Kasumi explained that Ranma lived at the house, but was not home. The
man consulted a notepad that informed him that he was to leave the box with
whomever was home. Satisfied that all was in order, the deliveryman handed
her the box and had her sign a clipboard. He bowed for her and took off in
his little white and blue minivan.
"What is it Kasumi?" Tendo asked.
"It's a package for Ranma," Kasumi explained. She consulted a few of
the labels. "I'm not quite sure, but I think this came from England."
"Well open it," Tendo said.
"Father, this isn't ours to open!" Kasumi protested.
Tendo harrumphed. "Mmm... Perhaps you're right. I guess we can just
set it on the table until Ranma gets home."
Ranma and Akane came home in time for dinner. Both had been
running to release pent up energy without having to resort to violence.
Kasumi's surprise skillet attack had at least kept them from each other's
throats, if only out of the self-preservation instinct.
They came in through the backyard soaked in sweat. Kasumi shooed
them upstairs to get cleaned up for dinner. Ranma waited outside the
bathroom while Akane bathed. Then she would take up her station while
Ranma did the same. It was becoming a tiresome ritual, and even more so
because they weren't speaking to each other.
When they came downstairs Ranma noticed the package.
"Hey what's this?" He asked. He picked up the box and studied it.
"Put that down for now Ranma," Kasumi advised. "It's time for dinner."
Ranma decided that he didn't need two of the Tendo sisters on his bad
side, and set down the box. He took his place beside Akane at the table,
but as far as either was concerned, the other may have been in Bahrain.
The meal was typical Kasumi, meaning it was absolutely delicious.
Unfortunately good company makes for good meals, and tonight there
was none to be found.
If there was a positive note to their dinner, it was that both Akane and
Ranma refrained from making snide comments about eating habits, table
manners, someone's figure, and so forth. But that was only because they
weren't speaking to each other. Not that Nabiki, Kasumi and Mister Tendo
didn't try to make for good conversation, it was just that their hearts weren't
in it any more than Ranma and Akane's were. In other words it was more
like a last meal on Death Row.
When Ranma finished, he cleared his dishes and excused himself. Then
he proceeded to tear open the box addressed to him. All eyes in the room
were upon the box as he opened it.
"Hey what's all this stuff?" He exclaimed.
He dumped the box onto the floor.
What spilled out were:
Two black leather cased Japanese Passports.
Two Japanese Diplomatic Visas.
Two pre-paid boarding passes on Japan Air Lines to Los Angeles via
Honolulu. (First Class) Redeemable at any time with guaranteed passage.
Two pre-paid boarding passes on British Airways to London from LA
(also First Class) Also redeemable at any time with guaranteed passage.
A large manila envelope with approximately 500,000 yen, 1000 British
Pounds, and 1000 dollars in American Express travelers cheques. All in
large denominations.
A Platinum Diner's Club card on a corporate account.
A handwritten note in Hiro's scrawl.
Ranma scooped up the note and read it aloud.
"Hey Saotome, I received your voice mail message. It was pretty weird,
but I knew you wouldn't tell me something like this if it wasn't on the level.
I relayed it to the Professor.
"They think they can help you and Akane, but you'll need to meet us in
London. I've taken care of all of your travel arrangements, passports and
the like. I also included enough spending money for your stay in London.
Don't worry about your accommodations, that's been taken care of as well.
Just get on the next flight out of Tokyo, and I'll be seeing you in London.
Your Friend,
Hiro
P.S. Use the Diplomatic Visas and you'll skate through Customs in the
U.S. with no problems. Use the yen I sent to buy some really expensive
clothes, gotta look the part and all!"
"What in the world?" Akane cried.
"Oh my! It appears you have some travel in your future." Kasumi said.
Nabiki examined the passports. "This is quality stuff. It has to be fake
though, there's no way he could get passports for you on such short notice.
And the Diplomatic Visas? I had no idea your friend was so connected."
"I didn't either," Ranma replied.
Akane took a passport from Nabiki. "Hey! Where did he get a picture
of me?" A photograph of her was neatly embossed on the inside of the
passport.
Ranma held up the other one to reveal a photo of himself. "Ditto."
Nabiki held up the envelope containing the money. "Well connected,
_and_ well heeled. Perhaps I misjudged him last time we met."
"It's the scientists he works for that have all the money," Ranma replied.
"Well he's on the inside, it works out to the same thing." Nabiki amended.
"You aren't planning on leaving tonight are you?" Kasumi asked Ranma.
Ranma blinked twice. The whole idea of flying around the world hadn't
quite sunk in just yet.
"Uh...Of course not." He replied after a minute's pause. Akane wasn't
helping him with any fast answers, the ball was entirely in his court.
"Exactly," Nabiki concurred. "We still have to go shopping for this little
jaunt, right?" She looked right at Ranma as she said this.
"Huh? What's this 'we' stuff?" He asked suspiciously.
Nabiki frowned. "Don't even pretend that you have any fashion sense,
Saotome. If you want to look like the Jet-Set, you have to dress like the
Jet-Set. That's where I come in."
"Uh, how much is this gonna set me back?" Ranma gulped.
Nabiki's eyes gleamed. "Fear not my dear Ranma, I believe Hiro Ohata
and his associates will be picking up the tab." She held the 500,000 yen
before his eyes. He had never seen so much money in one place.
She struck a contemplative pose. "Hmm, too bad we don't have the
time for a jaunt to Hong Kong. The new Fall lines will be coming out soon.
I think hand-tailored silk would suit you. Ah well, we'll see what we can do."
Late that evening Ranma and Akane went upstairs to bed. Their
hostilities had dwindled somewhat with new hope. The thought of leaving
Japan for England also weighed heavily on their minds. There just wasn't
room enough for grudges.
Akane entered Ranma's room wearing her yellow cat pajamas. He
looked her over and wished just once that she'd choose to wear that little
nightshirt he'd seen her in that early morning over a week ago. Pig-headed
intemperate violent impulsed woman that she was, she was still cute.
**Okay, more like beautiful,** he thought wistfully.
If she caught his brief hungry look she made no sign of it. Instead she
settled down next to him at their agreed upon distance of six inches apart.
It wasn't much of a gap, but the fact that she hadn't come any closer told
him that she was still angry with him.
Still, he could feel her breath softly against the back of his neck,
which also told him that she wasn't turning her back to him either. She was
putting out mixed signals. He had no idea what her intentions were,
and decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valor. He closed
his eyes and concentrated on going to sleep.
Not that it did him any good. Not that it had done any good the
previous three nights when they'd scowled at each other and made a big
deal of ignoring the other. She was still right there, so close, lying right
next to him. He would lay there and think about what might happen if
they should touch -just by accident mind you. Of what might happen if
she didn't immediately punt him out the window and into the pond in
the backyard. They were just thoughts; he didn't try anything like that,
and she didn't either. But it was thoughts like these that made the night
seem very long and sleep a nebulous foe that wasn't soon caught.
He wished he hadn't been so exhausted that first night they'd spent
together. They had been so intimate then. Her arm around him, his hand
in hers. It wasn't a big deal for most people their age, but for someone like
him for whom the fairer gender was always a bigger mystery than for
most; it was everything.
"Ranma?" Akane asked softly.
"Hurm?" He murmured, trying to sound like he was almost asleep;
which was an unabashed lie.
"Are we going to leave for London tomorrow?"
He was quiet a moment before speaking, and he could hear her drawing
breath to repeat her question.
"I guess so," he replied. "Tomorrow night."
"We couldn't wait on that?" She asked. There was something wrong in
her tone, but he wasn't sure what.
"I guess we could, but that would just mean we'd have to keep this up
longer," he replied. "Why? What's the matter with tomorrow night?"
She touched his shoulder then, sending an electric jolt down his nerves.
He jumped a little at the touch, and suddenly blushed at being caught in such
a reaction. She was prompting him to turn around and face her.
He did so. Her eyes shone in the moonlight through the window.
"I'm just a little nervous about leaving home I guess," she said sadly.
"You lived away from home at college," he returned.
"I was still in Tokyo. Home was an hour train ride away. This is a lot
different."
"You won't be alone Akane. Even if we aren't getting along so good
right now, you'll still have me to kick around."
She laughed a little in appreciation for his attempt at humor.
"I guess so," she admitted.
"Besides, didn't you tell me not too long ago that you would always be
with me, no matter how far apart we were?"
She remembered that winter's night well. It was his first night home from
the war. They hadn't seen each other in six months; she was at college, and
he was dodging artillery fire and bullets on some nameless blackened hill.
"I remember," she said in a hushed tone.
"And didn't you also tell me that you weren't letting me out of your sight
again?"
This she had told him upon his second return from the war. When he
had slipped away from his easy duty in Yokosuka awaiting discharge to go
back to Korea as part of some secret commando raid against North Korean
missile sites.
"Yeah, I told you that," she admitted.
"Well I'm going to London tomorrow. _We're_ going to London
tomorrow. To find a cure for this whatever it is. So we can have a semi-
normal life again."
She closed her eyes in contemplation.
"Okay," she said at length. "Tomorrow night. But late tomorrow night."
"Fair enough," he replied.
They were quiet for some time then. The only sounds were the crickets
outside and the soft breaths they took in the darkness.
"Akane?" Ranma asked. He wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep.
"Yes?" She answered.
"Truce?"
She moved close and curled her arms around him. Her lips touched his
very briefly before she nuzzled against his chest to sleep.
"Truce," she replied from the shelter of his strong arms.
End of Part Two
Thus concludes Part Two, the transitional piece in this work. (That’s
my excuse for why it is shorter than all of the other installments.) I had
plans to add another series of nightmare sequences, with all of the
appropriate foreshadowing, but decided it was still too early to give away
the store.
WARNING: Just because Ranma and Akane dreamed it doesn’t
mean it will happen. (Then again...) You’ll just have to stay on your
toes with this one.
As always I would appreciate any C&C you might have. I am posting
on the FFML and on the r.a.a.c newsgroup, but I will post more often on
the FFML that I might use your inputs prior to the final version for r.a.a.c.
I have plans to include artwork to accompany the story (and for the
Ranma Goes To War stories). If you’re interested, let me know. I’ll figure
something out but it won’t be until my enlistment ends in late November
and I can get settled in my new life.
Free the Nukes!