FATE LENDS A HAND

By Kawaii
Kawaiix@hotmail.com

[[[Disclaimer: None of the Ranma 1/2 characters are mine. All the Ranma 1/2 
characters are copyrighted to the splendid Rumiko Takahashi and co., only Fate 
is a (slightly) original creation and this fanfic is for pleasure (hopefully) 
and in no way, profit.]]]

     Fate looked on over the garden, revelling in the sights that she 
beheld...Folding her arms she leaned on the  glass rail across the balcony and 
opened her soul. Her senses fell back in bewilderment over the pleasant 
assaults. 
    Her eyes dived to the ground and followed the curves of the smooth, green 
earth as it danced around leaving plunging, deep valleys as a reminder. She 
watched as the river slithered round the hills, rushing and dipping and 
turning excitedly, surprising nature with it's unpredictability. She gazed at 
the doves as they flew through the sky, going round in circles with nothing to 
do and loving every moment of it. She spied as white rabbits played games, 
hopping about as if they were music notes jumping about the pages of a 
frenzied symphony. She breathed in the dainty and unassuming smell of the 
apple blossom, letting it flutter nervously through her lungs. She felt the 
morning breeze  swim through the skies, rippling her dress as it sped by, full 
of unending energy. She blinked as the sun trumpeted out it's shining light , 
occasionally flickering back as the white sheets of clouds swooped in to cover 
the sun's uninhibited soul. Heard, as she stepped back into the room, the 
whoosh of her long, white dress as it tried to catch up with her sudden 
movements, making waves in the silk wrapped around her, which was clutched 
tightly to her chest but was letting her legs run free. 
    Fate sighed as she put on her light  pastel pink velvet undercoat, 
carefully snapping each button on it together, smiling each time as if she had 
won some small battle. As she slipped on her pastel blue overcoat, a thought 
knocked on her mind, she let it in. Why did she have to deal with this mess? 
Fate couldn't handle her plans going awry, sure she was a _little_ mean to 
mortals sometimes but that was her job and it was character building. But when 
even she didn't know what had happened, then this planet was in real trouble! 
    It was her sister Destiny's fault, that immature girl had been neglecting 
her duties as this galaxy's cupid, getting involved too deeply in the romances 
she had to create between humans. It was pretty low to use a human's body in 
order to fall in love, stay human, and not do your duties...but that is what 
her sister, Destiny, had done and what she was sticking to.   
    Apparently love didn't seem to work in a deity's body. Fate knew her 
little sister was a little naive but she had never known how much. Fate missed 
her sister, Destiny, even though they weren't tied by blood but only by duty. 
Destiny had been a human for 1 year now and Fate had found it odd that she 
couldn't find Destiny anywhere on Earth. That puzzled Fate immensely, the same 
thing had happened to her predecessor. 
    Now her, the great Fate, who had to deal the universes problems and 
upsets, had to sort out the love lives of some kids and all their parallel 
counterparts in order to keep -- what was it? -- ying and yang..._yinged_. 
There was some sort of spiritual bond between these couples that were 'meant 
to be'. Anything which disturbed this equilibria had to be dealt with.
     It was fun jumping between realities though, but Fate had always hidden 
that behind her veil of sensibility.  _Some_  goddesses _had_  to behave while 
the others just ran around the heavens  neglecting the reasons that had given 
them existence!
    Fate put her pale hands to the back of  her neck and released her hair 
from the grasp of the overcoat, setting it free and letting the long and 
unbelievably shiny curls twirl and cascade down her back. Fate grabbed her 
hair, taking it over a shoulder down her front. Her hands delicately twisted 
and twirled a simple pale silver bow through intricate movements, binding her 
hair together in a ponytail down her side. Fate grinned at herself as she 
looked in the imaginary mirror, she didn't need a mirror but the novelty of it 
made Fate feel young again. Even though she was ageless, that never stopped 
Fate looking for wrinkles. Her silvery blue hair was intertwined with white 
lace. I hope no-one thinks I'm overdoing it, Fate muttered, she had to fit in 
so no-one would think she was special. It was the chosen couples future she'd 
have to deal with and Fate couldn't let her vanity interfere.  
      She closed her eyes and prepared to go to Earth, then nerves took over 
her, it had been so long ago since she had been a mortal on Earth but she had 
still held  remnants of regrets over her choice between mortality and 
immortality. It had been so long since Fate had decided to  accept the offer 
to become a goddess. She sighed and closed her eyes tightly, breathing in. 
Fate felt the surroundings twist and warp into nothingness, a moment of 
complete calm took over before she opened her eyes and look at her old world. 
It felt odd to be in human form but...reassuringly familiar. 
     Something clear and crystal fell into her large, unblinking eyes.
     "Aaaahhh!!!" a feeling of something piercing her body with shivers, 
zig-zagging round her body hitting her with several split seconds of icy pain. 
Then a shower of these daggers of water felled Fate, causing her body to feel 
the same disturbing shivers re-entering her very soul. "I never liked the 
rain," Fate grumbled. She was unhappy. Her, unhappy? It must be a side effect 
of being in a human body, once again surrounded by mortals.. It was an 
interesting experience.
    "I feel the same way about this weather," a young, high-pitched voice 
agreed. Fate twirled round to meet the face, her long coat and hair flied 
round a few moments after her, almost as if they belonged back in another 
time. The girl obviously thought so too as she looked a little surprised. The 
girl had short, shiny black hair which somehow managed to stay in place even 
though the sky had greeted Fate with it's special of the week - rain, rain, 
and more rain. The young lady smiled sweetly at Fate, a beautiful smile, then 
Fate knew that she had found one of the mortals she had literally come from 
the heavens to find. In the girls eyes, Fate saw a flicker of intense 
loneliness scatter pass the young one's eyes. "This is going to sound weird 
but I feel that I know you from somewhere, do you live round here?"
   "I guess you could say that," Fate wasn't lying, she lived here, 
everywhere, in every reality, but the half-lie troubled her all the same.  She 
hadn't lied for  a few millennia, when she had still been human. For some 
reason she was experiencing a slight rush of excitement at saying the barely 
notable non-truth. "Hello, Akane."
    "H-how did you know my name?!" her eyes opened wider, unwittingly letting 
Fate see straight into her soul. It was a painful one to look into and Fate 
was having a hard time trying not to get swallowed into the darkness which had 
overshadowed the real Akane. 
    "I'm here to help you, Akane." Fate took one of Akane's pale and shaking 
hands into hers and warmed it with both her hands. Fate guessed that the cold 
which was causing Akane to shiver wasn't the bad weather. Akane nervously 
removed her hand from Fate's, almost as if she had guessed who the goddess 
was.
    "I don't need help," she turned her eyes away from Fate's glare, staring 
at the emotionless and weary pavement. Her hair flopped ungracefully down to 
cover the tears which had unfaithfully pushed through her eyes, asking for the 
help Akane wouldn't admit she needed.  
    "How long ago did it happen?"
    "About six months ago, on his 17th birthday, there was a fight on a 
cliff-side, it had been raining, the ground was all muddy and slippy," there 
was no emotion in Akane's voice, so clinically cold as to make Fate shiver 
metaphorically.
    "It must have been hard on you, not being able to tell him how you really 
felt." 
     Akane didn't seem to care that this mysterious person knew everything 
about her, she had given up trying to figure it out, she had given up on most 
things, including life.
     "You should never give up on life Akane, it might just surprise you."
      This was the one thing which did surprise Akane.
     "You can read my mind?! Who are you?" Akane peered into Fate's eyes but 
Fate never even blinked.
     "A friend, my name's...Faith," it was near enough. Fate didn't like lying 
but Akane would have probably just laughed at her and walked away. Before Fate 
could help her, she needed to know more; emotional ties and true, naked 
feelings would be vital in order to restore the balance. 
     Akane seemed to accept this and started to walk down the shining, wet 
street, motioning to Fate that she could walk with her.
     "I've met weirder people than you, y'know? They've not been as nice 
though."
     "So I'm a nice but weird person, I think I'll take that as a complement," 
Fate replied with mock offence. They both laughed nervously at that but it 
soon died out. For a few minutes, all that could be heard, as the shower 
poured onto them, was the dancing of the raindrops off the ground and the 
murder of these dancers by Akane's and Fate's footsteps.
    "How did you come to Nerima, Faith? I haven't seen you around, but then 
I've been a bit occupied...," Akane's voice trailed
    "I had to come and sort out a mess my sister got herself into," Fate felt 
herself being drawn into the same mess, she was enjoying this thing: 
interaction. Fate had missed it _so_ much. She had only turned 18...when it 
had happened...but no, she had to stop thinking about it, she was here to help 
Akane and Ranma. 
    "I miss my sisters, it's been a month since I last saw them, fleetingly, 
in the shopping mall. My father won't even speak to me; they all think I'm 
crazy for even entertaining the notion that he might be alive, I'm beginning 
to think I was stupid for thinking that, too." Akane's head bowed down 
further.
    "How come?" even though she already knew about the death, she didn't know 
what effect it had on people, she never had never had anyone close to her die, 
not that she had known what had happened to her mortal relatives, she let 
Death do that icky stuff, choose who lives and dies, not that Fate couldn't 
interfere if things went awry, like now.
     "After...the disappearance...I couldn't bear it at my house, everything 
there reminded me of him. When I sat down at the table, I would expect him to 
be there, beside me, insulting me and stirring me up; he wasn't. I would 
snuggle into bed, holding P-chan tight, hoping that he would tap at the 
window, hanging from the roof with his feet, just so that I could throw 
something at him once more; he didn't. It was like his smell was on 
everything, everything I touched, saw, smelt, tasted, in that house. Every 
night when I passed the guest room, going to bed, I kept peeking in, expecting 
to find him there, sleeping peacefully, just so I could watch his blissful 
face and not the one I saw as he fell off the cliff into the rocky sea, never 
to be seen again..Oh, that sounded so stupid.." Akane clutched onto a 
handkerchief and tears came slowly from her eyes.
   "There's nothing stupid about how you feel..go on..it's OK."
    Akane choked back her sobs and her eyes went wide as she tried to stop 
crying. 
    "Since we never found the body, it made it even worse, I couldn't mourn 
and I couldn't accept his death. There was no grave I could leave flowers at 
and say my goodbyes to. Even a kettle of hot water made me cry, it was so 
stupid. I didn't tell you...he had this stupid curse, when splashed with cold 
water, he turned into a girl...and --"
    "Hot water turned him back, right?"
    "Guess you've heard of Jyusenkyo?" Akane looked at her innocently. Fate 
looked away, ashamed, she was just trying to bring those hot-headed martial 
artists down a peg or two, they didn't have to take their curse so to heart! 
They would get a cure, eventually. Destiny had always told her that she had a 
twisted sense of humour. Aparrently it was part of the job but Fate had found 
it a little too easy to fall into. Was it her fault people decided to drown 
themselves in the springs? Was it?....Yes, it was. Though that guy with the 
glasses did just walk straight into that pool! What a quack-up! Fate laughed 
at her bad joke. That unfortunate boy will get what he wants, in a few years, 
when he develops a spine.
     They arrived at an old building which looked like Akane felt. The spirit 
of this building had gone, leaving a jumbled mess of bricks, mortar and 
poverty. How anyone could live in this...this - " - Looks like we've arrived, 
"Akane said as she turned the door handle and it just came out. She kicked it 
down instead. The door finally gave in and fainted.
     "You live _here_?" Fate's non-existent brow ruffled, this was worse than 
she thought, much worse.
    "I see with all your fancy clothes, you've never been to a place like this 
before," Akane walked along the corridor, which looked like it had just been 
mugged and raped: innocence lost.
     Fate could see faded wallpaper, which was struggling to show beautiful 
flowers, like it was scared that if showed them, something horrible would 
happen. She saw an old antique lamp, hanging from the ceiling, all smashed up. 
She couldn't tell anything else about this forgotten house as the walls were 
covered in graffiti, graffiti so angry, she felt that it was going to yell at 
her. Damp creeped up the walls, slowly capturing the walls. The stench was 
like someone had hit you against a wall repeatedly, not content until you were 
bleeding. Fate couldn't bear it any more, something had to change. A new smell 
suddenly haunted the house, but it didn't hit you, it kissed you.  
    "Mmmm, cherry blossom, haven't smelt that in ages, where did it come 
from?" Akane's expression lightened as she walked lightly into another room, 
it was nearly totally dark, except for a old small and battered up study lamp, 
fighting against the darkness and winning, just. Fate saw Akane smile sadly at 
the lamp. "I used to throw that at him, out of my window." Fate let the lamp 
glow just a little brighter, it lit a small picture, lying in a rusted frame 
beside the lamp, which was on the floor. "That's him , R-R-R..." she could 
barely get the words out, they seemed stuck in her throat, "...Ranma," Akane 
looked momentarily happy, almost as if  she'd won a small victory.
     Fate studied the picture carefully, Ranma was smiling, and boy was he 
_cute_!! Fate immediately showed that thought to the door.
     Akane layed down on her futon and proceeded to eat a cold tin of beans as 
if it was her last meal, savouring every bite. Fate looked around, apart from 
the lamp, the picture, the futon and a splintering, wooden hammer (?) there 
was nothing.
     Fate sat down beside Akane, struggling to sit, composed, in a decent 
position with her 'fancy' clothes. Fate was losing pride fast. Akane started 
to giggle, and after deciding just to let her clothes rip so she could sit 
right, Fate started to laugh. Soon the laughing filled the house, bouncing as 
echoes off the walls. Fate found she couldn't stop.
    "What are we laughing about?" Fate choked out, stifling a laugh.
    "I have no idea. Let's not stop, OK?"
    "Yes sir!"...and with that the laughing started again, Fate couldn't tell 
whether Akane was laughing or crying.
    After a few minutes the laughing died out...the two sat there in awkward 
silence.
   "How did your family react to you moving out?" Akane stared at Fate for a 
few moments and then turned away, she rested her hand on her chin and sighed. 
After a few moments of still silence, she spoke.
    "They went crazy! They thought that I couldn't cope in my condition, that 
it was a phase I was going through, that I was in denial of his death. 
Basically, that I was mad!! I told them that it was something I had to do, 
that I couldn't stand it living under that roof and that their pitying faces 
were too much to take. Nabiki looked at me strangely, Kasumi looked hurt and 
Dad said that we would discuss it in the morning. That meant _no way_  was I 
moving out with him  around! That night I packed my stuff and left. Later, I 
found some yen stuffed in one of my jacket pockets and a note saying "when you 
find what you're looking for, come back - Nabiki". The money lasted 2 weeks. I 
got a job in a local shop and worked all day with just enough for rent and 
food."
   "How awful! You must have missed your family. Did you make any friends?"
   "I miss my family but I was dying in that house, I had to get out! It's not 
the same without Kasumi's cooking...she was a great cook..."
    ...It's hard for me to make friends. I was afraid of people finding out 
about my past and look at me with that pitying look which had driven me away 
from my own family. To tell you the truth, all this independence stuff is 
quite liberating, I've always been dependant on my dad. It was tough and I 
would give it all up, I'd give everything I had up, just to see Ranma alive 
but I felt good for doing this, for being free and making my own decisions. I 
am my own person and I choose what to do with my own life, my future, who I 
m-marry, _if_ I m-marry. I even learned to cook!" Akane picks up Ranma's photo 
and looks at it thoughtfully, tracing a finger round the outline of his face. 
"He might've even appreciated my cooking!" A sad laugh came from Akane and her 
weary face found it hard not to cry.
   "You loved him, didn't you?" Fate knew she was pushing her luck but she had 
to dig deeper before Akane buried it inside of herself again.
    Akane drew a deep breath and looked at Fate once again, a light sparked 
into her eyes and then faded suddenly, replaced by the usual melancholy.
   "Yes, always and forever, till I find him.... _however_ I find him," and a 
single tear emerged from Akane's red eye. That was all the answer Fate needed. 
It wasn't what Akane said, it was how she said it and the way she had acted in 
the last hour. The answer had been presented with a mixture of sadness, anger, 
regret and guilty happiness. Akane's soul had been stripped bare and was now 
vulnerable, Fate didn't say anything in case it stung Akane's wounds.
    Fate closed her eyes and put her hands together very tightly, turning them 
even whiter than they were before. Fate started to chant and her aura - a very 
strong aura - began glowing and swirling around Fate's body. Akane stared at 
her, unsure what to say. Suddenly, Fate rose to her feet, still chanting 
obsessively, and her feet left the floor, Fate's clothes started to twirl 
around her, wrapping her tightly to a bind. 
   "Oh my gods," shouted Akane, "What _are_ you?!"
    The aura got brighter and brighter until Akane couldn't see anything and 
her eyes felt like they were burning off. The light suddenly faded and Akane 
adjusted her eyes, slightly in shock. She turned to see Fate supporting 
herself against the decaying wall, breathing heavily but looking happy.
    "What's the matter?! What just happened?!"
    "He's alive, now, and he's coming here," Fate looked so happy, her  smile 
affected Akane who started to smile too.
    "Who's here? Who's alive? What are you -"
   "Aww man, where _am_ I?" spoke the figure before it collapsed to the side 
of the door.
   Akane's expression showed how she was fighting to control her emotions, 
before giving in and rushing to the figures side and sitting them up straight 
against the side of the door, her expression softening, Akane fought back her 
tears and looked into the figure's eyes.
   "Ranma, you're alive! I-I missed you, I thought you were dead!!" Akane 
wrapped her hands around Ranma's neck and buried her head in his shoulder, 
kneeling opposite him; he was now sitting up, pretty confused. He looked down 
at Akane, and tentatively put his arms round her and slowly stood up, never 
letting her go...
    He looked towards Fate who was leaning against a damp wall.
   "What happened? How did Akane and I get here?"
   "You fell into the sea and everyone thought you were dead, you were for 
about six months but you weren't supposed to be so I brought you back. As far  
as you should be concerned you were never dead, right? It was never supposed 
to happen," Fate had managed to say that in one breath.
   "What? Dead? Six months? But why are we in this dump, where is everyone?" 
Ranma looked at the strange figure with icy blue hair. He then looked at Akane 
who was holding onto him tight, sobbing but beginning to regain her composure.
   "Akane will explain all that. You two have a lot to talk about," a long 
pause ensues and Fate is still standing there.
    "A little privacy would be nice, err...miss...erm..who are you?." Ranma 
asked shifting nervously. Akane is now standing beside him, looking 
unblinkingly at him and holding on to one of his hands, which Ranma accepted 
without questions.
    "I'm here to help, I can't go until you both tell each other your true 
feelings," that wasn't strictly true but Fate was going to have fun with these 
two. Fate was enjoying the freedom of truth and deception. 
   "F-f-feelings, we don't have feelings for each other!" Ranma's face went an 
ever brightening red, showing up his lie. Akane looks at him nervously and a 
hint of sadness returned to her face.
   "I knew you were slow, Ranma, but really, this is ridiculous!" Fate motions 
towards Akane's tear-stained face, which was looking at him, straight into his 
eyes. Ranma held the gaze for a while, looking deep into Akane's eyes, his 
soul falling deeply into hers.
   "Akane I...l-l-love you." Ranma took both of Akane's hands into one of his 
and gently wiped away the tears from Akane's brightening face, which looked 
like the sunshine after the rain.
   "Ranma...it's been so long...I'd almost given up on you...I love you too, 
I-I always have." She drew away one of her hands from his and put it up to his 
cold but oh so alive face, drawing him closer to her. They didn't notice a 
rush of air and the bright flash in the background, as their eyes locked to 
each other irrevocably.
    "Akane..." their lips met and it looked like they would never part.
   The kiss broke and Ranma knew in his head and his heart that they should be 
together and Akane smiled at him.
    "You're cute when you smile."
   "You mean it? No joke?" Akane looked in mock anger at Ranma.
   "No jokes, no insults ever again, at least not for another ten minutes," 
laughter filled the room but this time it was real and happy.  
   Fate was already in another world and started to walk slowly down a 
familiar street. She looked at the clear sky, now smiling with its white 
teethy clouds showing. Fate was getting scared, she was beginning to enjoy 
human company and the emotions that ran through her when she saw the two 
re-united, feelings of relief and joy and...sadness. Why sadness? She should 
have been happy for them. Fate dug deeper into her mind for an answer...was it 
friendship she was missing...nooo! Can't be! Goddesses don't need friends, we 
don't have problems...or fun....being immortal didn't mean you had a life! 
Fate had sometimes wished, though, that, like Destiny, she could have been...
    "Get back here, jerk!"
    "Try and catch me!"
     Then there was a large thud and uneasy silence, which was not quite sure 
what to do with itself so it just hung around, nervously shifting.
    Fate sighed as she recognised the two voices, this was going to take a lot 
longer to sort out, resurrection is one thing to do, overcoming stubborness 
and pride, another. She slowly made her way towards the training hall, turning 
the corner, she saw the short black-haired girl holding a hammer over an 
unconscious pig-tailed boy, a cute boy, mind you.
     "Hello, Akane."
     Akane looked at her strangely.
    "Huh, who are you?"
    "I'm here to help, Akane."
    "But I don't need help....."
   
    TO BE CONTINUED (POSSIBLY MAYBE)            

   {By Kawaii} 
   Kawaiix@hotmail.com
******************************************************************************
*************************************** 
This is my first time posting to the FFML and posting a fanfic across the 
internet. Well, what do you think? Any good? Don't get too vitriolic though, 
and offers of marriage will be spurned (unless you're a cute guy ^_^ ). I've 
never had anyone to really critique any writing of mine so please be truthful. 
If anyone appreciates this I might write a follow-up, maybe from Ranma's point 
of view in a different world. I thought I'd do one with the more inexperienced 
and terminally naive Destiny, who has to matchmake between Ukyou and Ryoga but 
is always messing it up - by making Ukyou fall in love with Ranma and Ryoga 
with Akane - and then falling for Ryoga herself... knowing he's meant to be 
with Ukyou (I'm an Ukyou For Ryoga fan by the way and a hopeless romantic, in 
case the story hadn't given you any clues to that.) And a few questions that 
have nothing to do with the story...(1) Has Ryoga ever met Kuno? (2) will the 
Ranma 1/2 or Maison Ikkoku anime ever be shown in the UK -- either on TV (ie 
Channel 4) or on tape? I'm desperate to see the anime as it sounds so funny. 
Oh yeah and I'd like some penpals too.