The Characters of Ranma 1/2 are Rumiko Takahashi's. Hopefully, she'll
forgive us for what we're doing.

Send forth your com....Damn. I hate it when I get stuck in "Kuno" mode.

Ranma vs. Ranma! 
The Battle For Akane's Soul!
By She-Hulk and Kahm (brobinso@neocomm.net)
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Part 9


	The machines connected to Ukyo beeped in a steady rhythm. Ryoga supposed
this was a good thing. He moved his chair closer to her and after much
debate with himself, took her hand. The doctor had assured him that her
injuries, though profuse, were not serious. The blood loss was what had
concerned him more, but Ukyo was in excellent condition. The loss could
have been much worse. 

	Ryoga found himself studying her hand. It was amazingly small. He
remembered her swinging her super spatula at him. She had made it look
light, but he knew it weighed almost as much as his umbrella.

	 Her fingernails were short, like a guy's. Ryoga blushed a little as he
remembered discovering her secret. When the bandage that was binding her
breasts had been torn during the battle, Ryoga had taken one look, had a
nose bleed and then passed out cold. 

	He ran his thumb over the edge of a chipped nail. She had tried so hard to
help him win Akane's affection. She had even apologized to him later
because it didn't work. 

	There was a small scratch on the back of her hand. The image of her laying
against the wall flashed in front of him and he closed his eyes tightly,
willing the sight away.

	The still fingers softly closed around his. Ryoga opened his eyes and
found Ukyo looking at him. 

	"Uh....hi." Great opening, Hibiki!

	"Hey...." Ukyo tried to focus. Hospital. All white, smells funny, has to
be a hospital. "Hospital?"

	"Yeah...." He didn't know what else to say.

	Pleased with her accurate guess, she tried remember how she'd came to be
here. Something was hovering at the edge of her mind, but it didn't want to
come out. "How...long?"
	
	"Since last night. It's about eleven o'clock in the morning now." 

	"What happened?" Ukyo tried to look down at herself, but found that she
didn't have the strength to raise up. She frowned and waited for him to
tell her.

	"Uh, I don't think you should worry about that right now. What I mean is
that, you're safe now and that's what's important, right?" 

	She gripped his hand and started to pull him closer, so that she could
threaten him better.  The sudden pain in her arm stopped her. She stared at
the bandage wrapped around her forearm and a trickle of memory surfaced. A
throwing blade. A quick glance at her other arm explained the strange cold
feeling there, an IV.

	Ukyo could feel other bandages now, around her legs. She moved them
slightly. They felt stiff, but she could move them. The bulky mass of
another bandage around her waist drew her attention. She felt that it was
wound up over her breasts and across her shoulders. Ukyo gasped as memories
flooded her.

	Ryoga felt her hand clench around his and saw her face go white. Without
thinking, he reached out and began to stroke the side of her face. "It's
okay! Your safe here! Nobody can hurt you here." Ukyo's eyes filled and she
began to sob. Ryoga floundered for a moment, then acted. He dropped the
rail on the side of the bed and sat down on the edge. He then carefully
gathered her to him and held her while she poured out her fear. 

	The storm was intense, but didn't last long. As she quieted, Ukyo
gradually became aware of Ryoga. He was holding her and speaking very
softly. "It's over. It's okay. You're safe now." The words slipped past the
fear and she began to feel the world right itself. She stopped crying and
continued to hang on to him.

	Ukyo knew she should let him go, but part of her was rapidly discovering
that she liked the feel of his arms around her. Her cheek was resting
against bare his chest above the deep vee of his shirt. The smell of his
skin was like a strange mix of exotic herbs and masculine sweat. She heard
the steady drum of his heart and let it's sound flow through her as she
sighed.
	
	Ryoga felt the warm exhale against his skin and imagined kissing her.
What! Why would he...? <I'm in love with Akane. It wouldn't be fair to Ukyo
to do that to her.>  The voice in his head piped up. <But Akane's in love
with Ranma! You don't stand a chance with her!> Sneering scorn gave way to
sly cajoling. <Now maybe you'll listen to reason. Ukyo is a free woman now.
Look how much she needs you! She's not screaming and jumping away from you,
now is she?> 
	
	"Ryoga." Ukyo's voice was low. Reluctantly, she raised her head and looked
up at him. "I..I'm sorry I bawled all over you." His hand seemed to have a
mind of it's own, as it reached out and wiped away a stray tear.
 
	"Anytime. I mean, not that you should cry all the time, but ....that
is....uh.." Heat suffused his face and he stammered to a halt. He swallowed
hard and made his hand drop away. "I'm glad I was here."

	Ryoga gently lowed her back against the pillows. Ukyo allowed this, but
took his hand again as he returned to his chair. He stared at their joined
hands, then met Ukyo's direct gaze. He smiled a little.

	Ukyo drew a deep breath and demanded that he tell her exactly what had
happened. Ryoga began to speak and watched her closely for signs of
distress. It was a long tale. She asked dozens of questions and he did his
best to answer them all. When he told her about the attempted execution of
Ranma she was dumbstruck. "You were going to kill him, because of..." She
halted.

	Ryoga gave a nervous laugh, "Yeah." Then he grew serious. "I had to try. I
thought he had hurt you."

	He paused, not wanting to cause her anymore pain, but knowing it was
unavoidable. He explained that the Ranma who had attacked her was in fact a
demon that had been unleashed. The relief on her face was short-lived.
Ryoga told her the rest.

	Ukyo felt as if her world had been torn apart. Ranma had given his
heart....to Akane? He was in love...with her? All of her dreams had been
suddenly swept aside and discarded. She would never marry Ranma. She would
never grow old with him. The sense of something dying inside came again,
stronger this time.  It was over. She would live...alone. Die...alone.

	Ryoga leaned forward and gripped her hand. The look of despair in her eyes
scared him.

	Ukyo felt the pressure of his hand and focused on him. <Why....he's
worried about me!>  She smiled at him, the look in her eyes fading. "Sorry
to zone out on you. So you're here to protect me, huh?" He nodded
sheepishly. "Well, gotta deck of cards?"


Down the hall...

	Kodachi had come awake in a sudden start. Her frantic gaze had landed on
her brother, who was sitting beside the bed. He was watching her very
carefully for signs of dementia. "Brother."

	The hoarseness of her voice surprised her and she frowned. "Water?"
Sasuske appeared beside her with a glass. She sipped and spoke again.
"Where's Ranma?" Kodachi was frowning again.

	"He is not here, my sister. You are safe." Kuno smiled slightly. The
doctor was definitely a fool. Kodachi is indomitable. "It was not he who
attacked you, but a foul demon who had taken his shape."

	Kodachi's smile was righteous. "I knew my Ranma could not hurt me! 

	He sighed deeply. Kuno knew this next part would be tricky. 
	


Dr. Tofu's...

	Akane sighed and closed the book she had been searching through. The late
afternoon sun filtered across rug in front of her and she watched the whirl
of dust motes with unseeing eyes.

	 Kasumi considered her youngest sister thoughtfully. They had started the
search with high hopes, but as the hours had worn on and the numbers of
books in Tofu's library had diminished, hope had faded.

	Nabiki sneezed and closed her book with a snap. Akane looked up at her
with the question hovering on her lips, unspoken. Nabiki shook her head and
Akane's eyes fell in disappointment. She sat quietly for a moment, then
hurled the book she was holding across the room. It hit the wall with a
dull thud making everyone jump. "This is useless! There's nothing here!" 

	Dr. Tofu came to the open doorway and took in the situation with a quick
glance. Kasumi met his gaze with a raised brow and an almost imperceptible
nod in Akane's direction. "Akane."

	Akane blushed and started to apologize. She knew it had been childish of
her, but it was so frustrating. <Okay I'm scared! I admit it, see?> "I'm
sorry Dr. Tofu. I-" The wave of his had silenced her.

	He knelt in front of her and smiled. "It's all right. Actually, I was
wondering if you'd like to help me with something?" She nodded eagerly,
relieved that he wasn't mad. She was over her childhood crush, but she
still looked up to him. "I need to get some more books from a friend's.
Would you like to come with me?"

	They walked together in silence for the first ten blocks then Dr. Tofu
spoke, "It must be very awkward for you." Akane glance at him quickly, then
away. "This should be a happy day for you, but that's been forced into the
background." They walked a few more blocks.

	Akane burst out, "I'm still not sure what any of it means!" Her fists
clenched and she continued. "I know that the demon is after *me* because
Ranma has given *me* his heart. But what does that mean? Does he love me?
Did he really want to give it to me? Do we get married now? Do I really
love him?" Akane stopped speaking and she quickened her pace, as if she
could outrun her thoughts.

	Dr. Tofu said what she would not. "Can we stop the demon? Am I going to die?"

	Akane stumbled slightly, but didn't acknowledge his words. He continued.

	"It's all right to be afraid, Akane. We all are. But to answer one of your
questions, Yes, I believe that Ranma really loves you. Now whether or not
you two can work around each others fears and egos, is another matter."
Akane stiffened at the word "egos".

	"Ego! I don't have an ego problem! Ranma has the problem! Mister "always
has to win!" Can't admit when he's wrong and refuses to accept
responsibility for his life!"

	"And you, of course, are the picture of understanding and patience." Tofu
observed her crushed expression at his words, but continued ruthlessly.
"After all, it's not like Ranma has any  "real" problems, right? He's
handsome and girls fall all over him, but that's entirely his own fault. He
should be firm and send those girls away, tell them that he's not
interested in them and that their wasting their time. Better to hurt them a
little now, than to hurt them a lot more later. They'd get over it.
Eventually."
 
	"Sure he's cursed to change into a girl forever, but that's nothing.
Though if his mother finds out she'll kill him and his father, so they have
to hide from her whenever she visits. Which means that he can never see her
as his 'mother' again, but that's okay, right? A mother's love isn't that
important. Life goes on, right?" The sound of Akane's choked sob silenced
him. 

	They did not speak the rest of the journey. Akane's mind was in
turmoil.<Have I really been that uncaring?> Looking at his life from
Ranma's point of view, she was appalled at herself. The loss of her mother
still caused her a great deal of pain. How much worse for Ranma, who can
see her, but never as her son? 

	All of the crazy situations that Ranma had found himself in had just been
wild circumstance. Of course he hadn't helped matters much with his "Need
to be the best" hang-up. She remembered how he had tried to let each of the
girls down as gently as possible, but they hadn't listened. Akane began to
come to the stunning realization that Ranma's main problem was that he was
too nice!

	The train station was crowded and it took awhile to find Dr. Tofu's
friend. A short man in religious robes waved as they approached. He was
terribly old and completely bald, but he greeted them with the enthusiasm
of youth. 

	"Ah! Tofu! You're looking well! And this would be your wife?" Akane
blushed furiously as Tofu introduced her. "Oh yes! Now I remember! Tendo.
Quite a family." he rambled on for a few minutes, then grew serious. "I
brought everything that I thought might help." The old man nudged one of
the two cardboard boxes at his feet. "I hope these have the answers you need."

	Dr. Tofu thanked him and invited him to tea, but he refused. "Nope. Better
not, Raye gets mighty upset when I disappear. Don't know what's with that
girl these days. Can't get more than five minutes away from the temple
without her coming after me. Just between us, I think she doesn't trust me
not to get into mischief." 

	Dr. Tofu laughed. "Considering your wild youth, I can't blame her." A
voice announced the train's departure and they quickly said their farewells.