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DEADLINE

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Jonathan S. Haas

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This is my answer to the one hour challenge. It was written in one hour,
from 8:40 PM to 9:40 PM on June 24. I wrote it in realtime... read the
story and you'll know what I mean. I don't pretend that it's one of my
best stories, but hey, whaddaya expect for a single hour's worth of
work? Feedback as always appreciated at jhaas@microsoft.com.

=====

"One hour," the voice intoned, rich and melodious, yet somehow sinister.
"One hour is all that you have, and not one second longer."

I gaped, uncomprehending, at the vision before me. At first, I was
certain it was a dream. I faced a starry blue backdrop, made majestic by
my twin loves standing in front of it. On the left, Akane Tendo, wearing
a gauzy pale nightgown decorated with ducklings. On the right, Osage no
Onna, her fiery hair shining. Both looked somewhat confused, unsure of
themselves. They peered first at each other, then at me, then at their
almost featureless surroundings.

"Choose," the voice boomed once more. "Choose the one you will have."

"Who are you?" I shouted back. "What are you? What are you doing?"

"I am merely an interested party," returned the Voice. "You need only to
know that I have the power of binding one of these females to you,
wholly and eternally. She will love you until the day you die, and shall
never leave your side. Which is it to be? You have fifty-five minutes."

My head swam briefly. The Voice, whoever he might be, was promising me
heaven. Or rather, half of heaven, for surely heaven could not be
complete without not one but both of my angels. But the longest journey
begins with a tiny step, and halfway in one stride is quite a step
indeed. "Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"As I told you, I am an interested party. It amuses me to see this
resolved. Whichever you choose shall be your bride for the rest of your
life. The other will be cut free. But you must choose quickly. Your time
is running out."

Cut free? Surely this Voice could not be asking me to forsake one of my
lovelies *entirely!* Happiness could only come through them both! I
could not and would not sacrifice one to the sake of the other, and so I
told the voice that. "I refuse to choose!" I thundered.

"If you refuse," spake the Voice, "they both will die at the expiration
of the time period. Unless you want to lose them both, you will select
one of them. You have fifty minutes."

And then, behind me, a gigantic clock shimmered into existence from
nothingness. It was shaped like an antique pocket watch, encased in a
gold shell the size of a Subaru. Its shiny face read 11:10, and its
second hand slowly ticked away the moments until midnight.

I looked over at my darlings. Both of them had heard the Voice, of
course, and now both of them were filled with terror. They looked at
each other with horrified eyes, clearly wondering their fate. I was
filled with the urge to console them, comfort them, teach them that my
loss would not mean the end of the world. I had to select one, of
course. Heartbreak for one would be far preferable to death for both. I
took one step towards them, then another.

The two girls looked at each other, then Osage no Onna turned towards
me, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, Kuno-sempai!" she gushed. "You'll choose
me, won't you?" And with that, she leapt into my arms. Her intoxicating
scent surrounded me, her smooth face mere inches from mine. I was
momentarily stunned by her beauty gazing up at me. The effect was only
marginally marred by the elbow smashing into her pristine face from
above.

Akane stood above us both, her face a grim mask -- obviously filled with
jealousy. "Just what do you think you're *doing*?" she spat at Osage. 

The redheaded girl squirmed free from under Akane's elbow, shook her
head to clear it, then beamed a dazzling smile at me. "How about it,
Kuno-sama? You don't want this violent tomboy, do you? You want a *real*
woman, like me!" With that, she planted a small kiss on my chin, causing
electric shocks to course all the way down to my toes. While I was still
stunned, Akane grabbed her by her pigtail and dragged her away. When I
recovered, the two were involved in an animated discussion. I did so
hope it would not come to blows... I would have hated to see either of
them hurt.

The ticking of the watch reminded me of the grim deadline, and I glanced
at it. It read 11:20... a scant forty minutes before the moment of
truth. As the girls spoke, I watched Akane's face soften from rage to
mere anger, to disbelief, and finally to shock. Throughout, Osage no
Onna maintained a very serious look, no doubt doing her best to win me
for herself. I had to admire her tenacity, her loyalty, her sheer will
to be my bride. A tear trickled down my cheek as I considered how much
she must love me.

And then Akane broke down and threw her arms around Osage no Onna, sobs
wracking her body. I crept a little closer and heard her whispering
"Don't do this. Don't do this," over and over again. Again, I was
touched... obviously Akane wanted me so much that she was willing to
sacrifice her pride to convince Osage to give me up. How on Earth was I
to select just one of them?

Overcome with emotion, Osage returned Akane's hug, using her free hand
to stroke Akane's short black hair. Obviously, the emotional and mental
struggle going on was draining them. I had to put a stop to this. I
stepped closer to them and tried to calm them down. "Ladies, ladies," I
said. "Please, do not fight so. It pains me to see you locked in such
turmoil, and while it shall surely rend my heart to give one of you up,
I *must* do so, that you both might live."

Osage no Onna shot me a look then, and I nearly recoiled. Her gaze was
filled with such hatred and malevolence that she might have been a
cobra. Then in an instant, the look was gone, and all that was in her
face was love. I could not possibly have seen the contempt in her face I
thought I had... it must have been a trick of the light. "Kuno-sempai,"
she cooed. "I'll be such a good wifey for you. Even Akane thinks so.
Don't you, Akane?"

Akane looked up at me, her tears streaking down her face, her arms still
around Osage's shoulders. She looked back at Osage, then back at me, her
eyes darting between us two. "I... I..." she managed before breaking
down again, burying her face in Osage's shoulder. Akane never ceased to
amaze me. Each time I thought there was nothing she could do that would
demonstrate her love more than she'd already shown, she proved me wrong.
Her simple tears told me more than any words could. If I were to give
her up, it would kill her. But the very same might be said about Osage.
How, how, how could I choose?

As I agonized, the Voice returned. "Have you made your selection yet,
Upperclassman?" it came. It held a more amused tone than it had before,
and inwardly I seethed at it for forcing such a task upon me. "Not yet,"
I told it, with all the dignity I could muster. "Well, make haste," it
replied. "You have but thirty minutes." It faded away, trailing off with
diabolical laughter. 

The girls had moved away and resumed their conversation. Osage held
Akane's hands in hers, and spoke to her softly. Akane squeezed her eyes
shut and shook her head -- refusing to give me up, of course. Osage
leaned forward, put her cheek next to Akane's, and whispered into her
ear. The words only caused Akane to burst into tears again. I was forced
to restrain myself from leaping forward again and comforting them both.
Obviously they wanted some time to themselves, to come to grips with the
possibilities each faced. For one, a lifetime with her beloved
gentleman. For the other... despair, pain, unfathomable loss, rending
heartache. Possibly suicide. I cursed the Voice beneath my breath.

Their discussion seemed to reach some sort of turning point, an
understanding of some kind. They spoke for a long time, as the clock
ticked down. A look at it showed a scant twenty minutes remaining, the
minute hand pointing towards the VIII with a sort of dreadful finality.
Now they were touching each other's faces, tears streaming freely down
each of their cheeks. They drew each other back into a hug, holding
tightly... perhaps a quick battle of strength.

Finally, a shaken Akane rose, and walked to me. Pointing back at Osage
no Onna, she said in a broken voice, "She... she needs you more than I
do." Slowly she walked back, her footsteps slow and shuffling, a look of
desperation on her face. Osage stood and took her hands. Looking at
Akane one last time, she turned to me, and once again it seemed to my
imagination that it took a second before the love was evident in her
eyes. But once there, it was there in full force, and I basked in the
glow of her admiration as she bounded over to me. Glomping me tightly,
she said, "Yes! Yes, Kuno-sempai, you'll choose me, you'll really choose
me, won't you, won't you?"

I gently pulled her away and backed off, gazing once more at the two
goddesses. Akane's hair was mussed, and her eyes were red and puffy from
crying. It only made her all the more beautiful. The tragedy evident in
her expression made me want to gather her in my arms, protect her,
comfort her. But I knew that was not to be. The beauteous Akane Tendo
had made the ultimate sacrifice, giving me up, sparing me the agony of
making the choice myself. Osage no Onna was to be my bride, by default.

Osage looked at me, her wide smile plastered to her face... flush with
the headiness of victory, no doubt. She would spend the rest of her life
in ecstasy, she knew. But she turned to Akane, her expression suddenly
sad. And I marveled at her big heart, that she could sympathize with her
hated rival in her hour of defeat. She knew just how Akane felt, for she
knew how she would have felt were their situations reversed. Nobody
needed to tell her what the agony of rejection by Tatewaki Kuno would
feel like. And though they'd fought viciously over me, she couldn't
bring herself to feel anything but pity for Akane.

The clock read 11:50. I couldn't put such a vital decision off until the
last minute, not when lives were at stake, so I called out. "Voice!" I
shouted. "Demon, angel, whatever you are! I, Tatewaki Kuno, age
seventeen, the one known as the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, have made
my choice!"

Instantly, the Voice was there. "And which one have you chosen,
Upperclassman?" it asked, the amusement fully evident now. I answered by
clasping Osage no Onna in my arms. She looked up at me with eyes
shining.

"So be it!" boomed the Voice, and the world went white for a minute.
When my vision cleared, I felt a strange tingling. I looked down, and
Osage was still clutching me, but she looked somehow... different. Her
eyes were filled with even *more* love, if that were possible. She held
me just a little bit tighter. And when she spoke, there was something
new in her voice. "Oh, Kuno-sama," she sighed, with a slight moan.
"You've made me so happy." She pressed her body against me, threatening
to overload my senses.

And then I heard a soft cough. Akane stood before us, her loss evident
on her features. "Can I... can I just... say goodbye?" she asked in a
voice that was nearly a whisper.

"Of course," I replied, my heart filling with a weird mixture of joy and
pain. I stared deeply into her eyes and said, "Goodbye, Akane Tendo. Let
not my loss dominate your thoughts for more than a few decades.
Eventually, you must somehow put me from your heart, and carry on with
your life." Akane nodded, obviously not believing that she would ever be
able to get over me, but trying to humor me. Then she turned towards
Osage, who was busily running her hands over my body. "Will you be
okay?" she asked.

"Oh yes!" gushed Osage. "I'm the happiest girl in the world!" I knew
that she meant it. And yet, again, something was different. Before the
choice was made, there had been something in her voice when she spoke to
Akane, and that something was gone now. Akane noticed it too, and tears
poured down her face anew, as she slowly shimmered into invisibility, no
doubt transported back home by whatever force had brought her in the
first place.

I felt a twinge of regret, but not for long, as Osage's fingers were
clutching me in places that a lady really shouldn't clutch in public. I
opened my mouth to protest, but she silenced me with a deep kiss. My
lady love overwhelmed my senses, as together we toppled to the ground.

The clock struck midnight.

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Like it? Hate it? Send me feedback: jhaas@microsoft.com

(C) 1997 Jonathan S. Haas, but do anything you want with it except put
your name on it or anything stupid like that.