"Under The Hammer"  Chapter One of Three.
By Henry J. Cobb
$Id: under_the_hammer_out1.txt,v 1.4 1996/11/30 19:06:34 hcobb Exp $

The Ranma 1/2 characters are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi.
The AMS characters are the creation of Kosuke Fujishima.
No infringement of their copyrights is intended.

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    "I know that you and I
    were meant to be forever.
    I can't tell you goodbye." -Helen Reddy.

It was Midday Saturday, Nerima district Tokyo.  In the kitchen of the
Tendou residence, a cute sixteen year old girl with short black hair was
working furiously over several pots and pans.  She brought a spoon with
a sample of one the dishes to her lips.  She closed her eyes and took a
careful sip.  Her eyes snapped open in shock.

"It's good, I did it!"  She walked over to the foot of the stairs and
called up. "Nabiki, have you seen Ranma?"

Her sister answered from her room. "Last I saw, he was still in the
Dojo, Akane."

Akane stepped outside to walk to the attached building.  There was a
happy spring to her steps, it was such a wonderful day.  Opening the
door to the Dojo she asked. "Ranma?"

A sixteen year old boy was stretched out on the floor, in a gi.  In
front of him lay an ancient Chinese scroll and a Japanese / Chinese
dictionary. He stabbed at a spot on the scroll. "Yo Akane, what's this
phrase mean?"

She glanced over his shoulder to read the scroll then picked up the
dictionary.  After a few minutes she had pieced it together.  "Skipping
horse back flip."

He closed his eyes to think for a minute then sprung up and went through
a complicated series of motions, over and over.

He's so dedicated to the art, if only he'd take his classwork as
seriously.  Shaking her head Akane called out to him. "Take a break
Ranma.  Lunch is ready."

Ranma stopped his kata and turned to look at Akane, with a start he
noticed her apron.  "Did you make it?"

"Of course I did."

"In that case I don't have to worry about it being edible."  Ranma
resumed the kata.

"Come on Ranma it's good, really it is."

"That's what you said last time."

"This is different."

Ranma stopped again and turned to face her.  "Remember what I did last
month?  How I tricked Shampoo into agreeing that she'd be the prize in a
match with Mousse?  What she didn't know is that I'd been teaching him
to fight blindfolded.  Now they've closed the Nekohatten and gone back
to China.  Who would have thought it?  Me, a Saotome, giving up free
food?  And it was all to make you and your dad happy."

Akane wasn't going to just sit there and let him blame her for his empty
stomach, especially since he'd hop off to the Utchan as soon as she
turned her back. "But didn't Mousse trade you these training scrolls for
that?  And I've been practicing too.  My cooking's a lot better, but you
won't even try it."

With a sigh, Ranma packed away his scrolls.  "Do you think that if I
really wanted Shampoo, I'd trade her for some old scrolls?  O.K., let's
make a deal.  You eat your own cooking and nothing else for a week.
And, if you're still alive, I'll try some of your cookies and join you
in the intensive care ward."

How could he, how could he, how could he say such a thing?  Akane
welcomed the hammering of her outraged heart.  She closed her eyes for a
moment, reached into a blue haze, and when she looked again, she held
the instrument of her righteous anger.  Every time he abused her, it got
easier and easier to summon the hammer.  "Ranma no baka!"

Ranma dodged her first swing and ran out into the yard.  "Clumsy tomboy,
you couldn't hit the broad side of the Dojo!"

Swoosh!

"Nyhaa!" Ranma turned back to taunt her, took a step backwards and
tripped over a tree-root.  "Ouch!"  He landed with a thump.

Akane lowered her hammer and stepped forwards. "Ranma are you hurt?"

Wincing from the pain as he clutched his ankle, he shot back at
her. "Yes it hurts, you stupid uncute bitch.  At least it doesn't hurt
as bad as your cooking."

Akane clenched her teeth.  The blue haze washed over her.  Later it
faded away and her vision cleared to show her hammer, held out in her
hands in front of her.  There was something different about it.  It was
now mostly red.  It looked like blood.  Over her own gasping breaths she
heard somebody shouting.

"Akane!"

"Huh, Nabiki, what?"  Akane looked down and saw what had to be Ranma's
face, after all it was attached to his body and a pig tail, but it was a
very bloody mess.  "Ranma!"

The hammer faded away as she dropped it.  She dropped to her knees to
cradle Ranma's head in her lap.  He was very still.  "Ranma please be
OK, I didn't mean it.  Ranma you idiot, you've got to be OK."

Nabiki came and stood next to her.  "He's dead."

"I know -- I, I killed him."

"No, don't say that, don't even think it!  If they lock you up, it'll
destroy you.  We've got to pin this on somebody else, how about Ryouga?"

"No, it's my fault.  I should pay the price.  I should die."

Akane felt a small hoof tapping at her knee.

"P-chan, I have to pay the price for what I did, right?"

The small black pig shook his head no.

"I, I should blame Ryouga for this?"

P-chan looked so very sad as he nodded his head yes.

The ambulance and the police have left.  Akane got up from the living
room and walked slowly to her room, she closed the door behind her and
threw herself down on the bed.  "I did what you told me to P-chan.  I
think, I think they believed me.  Oh Ranma, I'm so sorry."

The pig said nothing, but simply snuggled beside her.

It was noon Sunday, Akane hadn't moved all day.  She simply lay and
stared up at the ceiling.  She ignored the knocking at her door.

P-chan came and poked at her cheek with his snout.

"Yes?"

Her sister Kasumi called from the other side of the door.  "Akane are
you OK?  I brought you some lunch."

Akane turned away from the door, but P-chan prodded her again.

"OK sis, bring it in."

As the door opened, she could hear Soun and the Saotomes downstairs,
discussing the details for Ranma's funeral.  She gasped in horror as she
saw what it was that Kasumi had brought.

"This stuff you made yesterday, it's quite good, why don't you try
some?"

Akane wrapped herself around P-chan on the bed, sobbing.

"Oh my, I'm sorry."  Kasumi stepped away and closed the door.

Monday morning, Akane's alarm rang.  Normally she wouldn't hear it,
she'd be out on her morning jog.  This morning, she opened her eyes and
stared up at the ceiling.  A few minutes passed, then she felt little
pig teeth snipping at her toes.  "OK, I'll go."

Nabiki pulled Akane along.  It seemed to be the way to school, but Akane
wouldn't look up.  She couldn't look up at the fence, with nobody
walking on it.

At the gate, somebody threw their arms around Akane.  She looked up into
Ukyou's face, she seemed to have been crying all weekend too.

"Akane, I heard about what happened.  It must be so hard on you."

"On you too Ukyou.  I, I know how much he meant to you.  I'm sorry."

"For coming between us?  Don't be, I guess Ran-chan and I simply weren't
meant to be."

Taking Akane's hand, Ukyou lead her towards the school building.

"Akane Tendou!"  Only one boy could sound so pompous. "At last you are
free from that evil wretch Saotome!"  Tatewaki Kuno grabbed her into a
tight embrace.

Akane glared at her sister with venom.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him." Nabiki shrugged.

Akane found a very calm voice. "Let me go."  As her pulse thundered like
a hammer, the blue haze crept into the edges of her vision.

Akane shuddered in a deep breath, her vision cleared to show Tatewaki
beneath her, her hand raised for a blow to his throat.  It would be the
last blow.

He looked back at her with his left eye and attempted to raise his left
hand towards her.  "Beloved"  He managed to croak out.  Neither his
right eye or his right arm seemed to be in very good shape.

She felt Nabiki pulling on her "Come on, you'll be late for class."

Numbly she let herself be drug along.

"Tatewaki!" Ukyou cried as she ran to him. "It's going to be alright,
somebody call for an ambulance!"

That Sunday, Ranma's funeral was held.  The Saotomes were so very calm.
Soun cried on the support of Kasumi and Nabiki.  Kuno was there, in his
bandages, Ukyou hanging onto his left arm.  Dr Tofu was solemn for the
first time in Kasumi's presence.

Akane stood alone, P-chan in her arms.

Tatewaki was the last to speak. "Ranma, we never agreed on anything, but
I always found you to be an honorable foe.  I understand that the
pig-tailed girl could not live without you.  Let this be the final gift
from the Blue Thunder to you both."  He threw the red roses onto the
coffin and walked away with Ukyou.

The Saotomes were saying goodbye to everybody.  Suddenly Akane knew
what it meant.  This is the last time we're ever going to see them alive
again.  They're doing this to protect me.

Genma approached her.  "Goodbye Akane.  P-chan, look after her, OK?"

The pig nodded, Akane said nothing.

The next Sunday, Akane sat on her bed, after the funeral of the
Saotomes.  They now lay on either side of their son.

Akane opened her shirt, P-chan's eyes grew wide.  She brought out the
large knife she had smuggled up from the kitchen, his eyes grew wider
still.  "Ranma, Genma, Nodoka, there's so much blood on my hands.  I
can't take any more.  It's time to end this."

She brought the blade to her chest, but a small black form darted up and
bit her on the finger.

"P-chan, don't interfere!"  Akane swatted him against the wall, but he
got up and came back towards her.  Switching her grip on the knife, she
stabbed down at him and stopped.

He stared up her, baring his chest.  She shuddered, she couldn't stand to
face those eyes.  She dropped the knife and picked him up.  "OK P-chan,
you win.  No more killing."

	Henry J. Cobb	hcobb@slip.net          http://www.io.com/~hcobb