DISCLAIMER: Ranma Nibunnoichi is the property of Takahashi Rumiko,
Shogunate Inc, and Viz Video. It is used without their permission and is
not intended for profit but only for the enjoyment of fans of the Ranma
series. All characters within this fic that are not the property of the
above mentioned are copyrighted to the author, January 1997. This work
of fiction is the resut of the author's hard work and is for the
enjoyment of others. Please do not change, modify, or use any segment of
this story without the author's knowing and written consent. Feel free
to archive this work.

************************************************************************ 


                           The Legacy

                    A Ranma Nibunnoichi Fanfic
                         By Joseph Kohle

                       Part IV: The Inward Eye


     Sighing in content, Ranma leaned back against the tree, smiling as
he watched Ranko scamper towards a group of children playing around a
small pond. He watched for a while, just to make sure things would go
well. Knowing that Ranko had never met another child worried him. She
was different in many ways. Some of them Ranma understood, but most he
could only guess at. She seemed to get along fine with them though, so
Ranma turned his attention back to his companions.
     Ukyou and Akane were talking on the other side of their spread
picnic blanket, their voices low and conspiratorial. There was a great
deal of giggling involved, and every so often they would look at him, as
if they were afraid he would disappear. It was actually rather unner-
ving, but he held his temper, telling himself that they were just trying
to make sense of everything and reassure themselves that he hadn't
mysteriously disappeared again.
     Actually the occasional glances were better than what had happened
the previous night and most of the morning. Awakened by Ukyou's more
than exuberant entrance, Ranma had suddenly found himself entangled in a
sobbing and very incoherent Ukyou. This was only complicated by Akane
being trapped between the two of them, trying the to explain things to
Ranma's childhood friend. And if that was not enough, the noise had
woken Ranko from her slumber. Still half asleep, Ranko had squirmed into
the pile and hung tightly to Ranma. Soon even she shook off the effects
of her slumber and was clambering over him with enthusiasm.
     The night had just gone downhill from there. Ranma had suddenly had
his hands full with more than he could do. Ukyou's questions and demands
on his attention were complicated by Akane trying to answer for him, and
her inability to leave his side. Since she was awake and hadn't figured
out that breakfast wasn't for at least six more hours, Ranko had wanted
something to eat.
     Somehow, he had managed to overcome each obstacle while not losing
it completely. He was actually quite proud of himself for dealing with
all the little problems that cropped up. Eventually though, even he
could not take it and put his foot down, telling Ukyou and Akane that
enough was enough. Standing up, he picked up his bored and cranky
daughter before she could make more of a nuisance of herself than she
was already doing. Making his apologies, he had told them that Ranko
needed her sleep, and so did they. Informing them that they could catch
up tomorrow as well as they could tonight, he started to walk towards
the bedroom fully intent on getting a good night's sleep. 
     Ukyou and Akane stopped reminiscing about something he had done,
and looked at him surprised. "Uh, I guess your right," Akane said, "I
am a little tired. Besides we could all use a few hours to settle down,
and tomorrow is an open day. It will be perfect to catch up then. I'm
sure Ranma would be much more companionable if he was well rested,"
Akane finished, turning to Ukyou and smiling.
     "Oh, I agree. Ranchan was always easier to deal with when he was
well-rested and well-fed."
     Ranma shot both a dirty glance, but let the comment slide. He was
just too tired to retort.
     "We'll just have to feed him, then," Akane suggested, ignoring or
missing Ranma's look.
     "Hai," Ukyou agreed, "We could even make a picnic out of it."
     "Oh, that would be wonderful, Ucchan," Akane said, "Don't you think
so, Ranma?"
     "Uh, sure," he answered, "That would be great. See you in the
morning." As he turned away, he heard them both say great, and then they
were walking past him into Akane's bedroom, shutting the door behind
them. Staring at the closed door, he sighed in resignation, and returned
to the couch to settle down for the night with Ranko.
     Now he was here in the park, after eating a wonderful picnic lunch,
relaxing against a tree and wondering how he had been railroaded so
easily. Of course it had not turned out to be a bad idea despite Akane's
insistance that she cook a few things for their picnic. Fortunately, she
had only made the cold cut sandwiches and a few dishes of sushi, mostly
vegetable, but one with tuna. As was his wont, when Ranma learned that
she had made the sandwiches and sushi, he was more than a little
worried. Common sense, however, overrode his natural tendency to attempt
to save his life, and he tried them anyway. He was pleasantly surprised
by the result. Expecting instant death or coma, he only found the sushi
slightly bland, yet edible, and the sandwiches near enjoyable. At least
Akane had worked on one thing in the past few years. Smiling back at
Akane, he complimented her. Surprising her when she had expected an
insult. Actually about half-a-dozen insults had popped directly into his
mind as he had taken his first bite; however, one thing he had learned
during his search was to keep his mouth shut. 
     He had lost count of the number of times his mouth had landed him
in trouble during the first few years of his search. It had ranged from
embarrassment to an attempted stoning, luckily they had not counted on
him being able to leap away while still bound. He was immensely glad
that he had learned this lesson when he saw Akane smiling back at him.
     She still smiled too little for Ranma's taste. Even when he had
returned, she had rarely smiled, seeming more withdrawn than anything
else. Looking at her now, next to a very animated and happy Ukyou, Ranma
felt the worry gnawing away at him again. She had not told him much of
what had happened with her over the past years. He had gotten a few
vague impressions through her few emotional outbursts. Everything else
they had talked about was just catching up on family history and
explaining his own adventures. 
     There was no doubt that they needed to talk between themselves. But
where could he start? So many things had changed the tenuous footing of
their relationship, that a single apology or agreement would never solve
anything. Things had changed. He knew how he felt about her, but how did
she feel? She said she loved him. Sometimes, though, she would watch him
when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and then he would see the
confusion and indecision in her eyes. 
     The fact that she might be questioning their relationship was worse
than the loneliness he had endured. The fact that she no longer wore the
engagement ring he had given her before he had left disturbed and hurt
him even more. He had not had the chance or the nerve to ask her about
it yet, but he needed to know.
     As he pondered his situation, he watched Akane and Ukyou as they
chatted back and forth. A glimmering of an idea began to take shape.
Akane responded well to Ukyou. They laughed a lot, and Akane seemed to
give as much as she took from the conversation. It would have been 
apparent to even the most inattentive fool that these two were close
friends, who had shared much of their lives with each other. Because of
that, Ranma grasped upon the idea of using Ukyou as a medium to get to
understand Akane. All he had to do was to get her away from Akane so he
could talk to her without interruption. Besides, he wanted to assure
himself that they were still friends.
     A walk, he decided, was the easiest way to go about it. They were
in a park after all, and he could easily make an excuse to take a walk
with Ukyou. Then Akane and Ranko might get a chance to get comfortable
in each other's presence. Ranma thought Akane might benefit from having
Ranko around, and he knew Ranko absolutely adored her Akane-obasan. Yes,
he decided finally, that was the prudent course of action. It relieved
him of accidentally insulting or hurting Akane, and it might even get
Akane in a better mood. Hell, he thought, Ranko could drag Ryouga from
one of his depressions just by smiling. Now he just had to broach the
subject and hope for the best.
     Standing up he walked over to the two young women. They were
discussing something that had happened to one of their friends when he
arrived. Noticing Ranma, they stopped talking and looked at him. "Do you
want something, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked, smiling brightly at him. Akane
also gave him a shy smile, and he felt his grasp on the situation
slipping. Something about those two smiling disturbed him and made him
want to run for cover. It felt like he was already at a disadvantage.
     "Uh, I was just wondering if we could go for a walk, Ucchan," he
said, "I would sort of like to talk. I mean that is if you don't mind
breaking off your conversation, and Akane doesn't mind babysitting Ranko
for a while." He thought it went off pretty well, but one thing he had
not gained was any subtlety or a sense of bad ideas.
     "Are you trying to get me alone, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked coyly,
batting her eyes at him. Ranma gulped audibly, and looked over at Akane
expecting to see her with a mallet thereby missing Ukyou's slow wink at
Akane. 
     "Ranma," Akane growled dangerously, "What are you trying hentai?"
     "Nothing," Ranma sputtered, wondering how things had gone wrong so
fast. It had been such a good idea, "I just wanted to talk to Ukyou.
Can't I spend time with a friend I haven't seen in six years? You had me
to yourself last night." Even Ranma realized how lame that sounded, and
sunk his head, expecting to get hit. Instead he heard laughter.
     Lifting his gaze, he saw Akane and Ukyou on the ground laughing,
pointing at Ranma's now incredulous expression. "Th-that was worth it,
just to see you l-look like that," Ukyou laughed.
     "I-I'm sorry," Akane put in still laughing, "You just set yourself
up so well. But I'll be glad to watch Ranko for you. You and Ukyou have
fun." With that she got up and walked towards the pool still chuckling.
     Muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all, Ranma
turned to a flush-faced Ukyou. "So would you like to go for a walk?" he
asked, "or do you want to have a few more laughs?"
     "Iie, that's okay, Ranchan," she said, finally controlling her
humor, "I would like to have some time with you. It has been a long time
for the both of us." 
     Ranma nodded his agreement as Ukyou pushed herself up from the
grass. Steeping next to Ranma, she slipped her arm around his and began
to walk with him down the stone path that ran next to their picnic area. 
     The walked together in silence, enjoying each other's presence and
the day. It was one of those days that Ranma always relished for
training and traveling. A warm breeze gently tugging at his clothes as
the sun played hide-and-seek with the sparse clouds in the sky, bringing
about a slight shiver when one of the shadows slid over him. A brief
rain storm the previous night had washed the dirt and stench from the
air, leaving the clean smell of the country as a gentle tang upon the
senses. A perfect day made all the more perfect because he was spending
the time with his loved ones.
     Turning his eyes slightly, he saw a content expression of bliss on
Ukyou's face. She was leaning against his arm, applying only a slight
amount of pressure as if she were doing it unconsciously. Ranma didn't
mind. Ukyou was his friend and he wanted her to have as much as he could
give her and more. 
     They walked along the path together until they came to a small
garden. It was meticulously manicured, with four rocks placed in a
deliberately random pattern among the five ordered dwarf trees as a
stream tumbled lazily through it from a pond in another garden to
connect with a small stream heading back the way they had come. As if on
cue, a bird lifted it's voice in a gentle melody as they entered the
garden. It was only by chance that Ranma caught the sudden wistful
expression on Ukyou's face.
     It was a feeling Ranma was acquainted with. Walking through the
park had brought back many memories of his time with the Tendou's. He
had always found comfort in being able to disappear in the park or under
the bridge by the canal. Yet, those times were in the past, and he was
now faced with a problem that a park or eave of a bridge would never
solve. His years of travel as a child had left him different from
others. His curse had reinforced that. The last six years had taken him
farther and farther away from those he loved, and just seeing what his
life had been like, he wondered if it could ever be fixed. More than
anytime in his life, he felt that he was on the outside, like a beggar
child, looking in on a rich family as they ate and trying without
success to be a part of that elite world. He wondered if he would ever
find happiness outside of his daughter.
     "Are you happy, Ucchan?" Ranma asked suddenly, without thinking.
     Ranma saw Ukyou's expression go from wistful to surprise in a
moment. "You're alive, Ranchan. What could make me happier than that?"
Ukyou answered, turning to face Ranma. "Besides you loving me that is."
     Ranma sighed. "Ucchan, I do love you. It-it's just that I can
never love you like you want me to. Akane has had that claim for too
long."
     "I know, Ranchan. I know," Ukyou said quietly, turning and walking
towards the other end of the garden. "You told me that before you left.
I understood then, and I understand now. But it's just..."  
     "Ucchan, you'll always be my friend. How can you even doubt that?"
Ranma asked as he caught up with her. "We've been a part of each other's
lives for to long to just let it slide. A few years here and there
aren't gonna matter in the long run. You're my best, one of my only,
friends. You're very special to me, Ucchan. No one else fits your place
in my heart. You're my friend, the sister I never had. You've always
taken the place of the family I never got a chance to have. It might not
mean anything to someone else, but to me it's everything. Maybe if Akane
and I had never met..."    
     Ukyou gave Ranma a half-hearted smile. "I can live with that kind
of consolation, Ranchan. I love you, but I love Akane too. She has had a
hard time of all of this, more so than even me. She really needs you,
Ranchan."
     "I know she's had a hard time, Ukyou. I know she didn't deserve
what happened, but..." Ranma shook his head.
     "But what?" Ukyou asked.
     Ranma took a breath and looked at Ukyou as they walked from the
small garden. "I don't know what to do about her. I want to help her and
make everything better, but how can I fix something I can't even see. I
mean it seems like she is so distant from me. I can understand she has
suffered a lot because of me, but it just seems that she doesn't want me
to find out that anything is different. Sometimes, I look at her and it
breaks my heart because she looks so lost and confused, but where do I
begin to find her again? How can I help her, Ucchan? You've been her
friend. What do I do?"
     She had suspected that the whole reason for this walk had always
been about Akane. She didn't mind. Especially since, while they prepared
the picnic that morning, Akane told her she just did not know how to 
tell Ranma what she wanted to tell him. She was confused about where 
they stood in relation to each other. She was uncertain whether she was
even right for Ranma any more. 
     Ukyou could understand that with little trouble. Heck, her mind was
still whirling from everything Ranma and Akane had told her. And Ranko?
She just did not even want to consider that. Ranma had moved beyond her
forever. She knew that now. It had hurt her when Ranma had sat her down
those many years ago and told her that he could never love her the way
she wanted him to. He had told her that Akane had his heart. And
everything that had happened to him, all that he had gone through to be
with Akane, just proved it beyond a doubt with her. But she knew she
could be happy with Ranma as a close friend, especially since it was
Akane that he loved.
     It was not as easy for Akane, she had to deal with the new Ranma. 
To help Ukyou had simply told Akane what had come into her heart. Ranma
needed someone to talk with, someone who could help him out. "If you
think you are confused, Akane-chan," she had said, "Think what it must
be like for Ranma. His life has turned upside down in six years. He goes
away to be cured, ends up being gone for six years, returns with a
daughter he had not expected or wanted at first, only to find that he
had died. Don't you think he needs someone to be there for him? He did
this all for you. I think he needs your approval and understanding more
than anything else in the world right now. Just be there for him, Akane-
chan. You are the most important thing in the world to him. Can't you
see that in his eyes? At least do it for me. I don't want him hurt
anymore." Akane had only nodded in response.
     Thinking about it, Ukyou decided that it would be best to tell
Ranma the same thing, with a few changes at least. Ukyou started talking
to Ranma telling him about what had happened to Akane after he had left.
     "I think that the problem is that Akane does not know what to think
about you and what has happened, Ranchan. The news of your death really
hurt her deeply. For weeks she stayed in her room curled into a ball on
her bed crying and crying. Nothing anyone said or did mattered to her.
She did not eat, even with Kasumi pushing food on her, or Nabiki and her
father forcing her to eat. For a while we all thought she would die.
Eventually she came out of her room and returned slightly to normal
life, but she was very different. The smallest thing could send her
into a deep depression. Pictures, places, even dinner sometimes upset
her too much. She would simply turn back to her room and start crying
all over again." Ukyou suddenly stopped as she realized Ranma was no
longer beside her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him staring at
her with a stricken expression.
     "She loved me that much?" he asked in an awed voice. "No one's
ever cared for me that much."
     "Ranchan, sometimes you are so dense," Ukyou said. "There are more
people than you imagine who actually care for you. It's not like you're
the only who can love someone else. What would you do if Akane had died
when you went against Saffron? What if she had died while you were on
that adventure of yours?"
     Ranma shook his head. "I-I don't know, Ucchan. I don't think there
is a way to answer that. Akane has been with me for so long that she is
my life. She means more to me than anything else in the world. For these
past few years I have done everything for her. She was and is my reason
for living. Without her, I-I don't see a point to living," Ranma
finished silently. 
     "What about Ranko? Where does she fit in?" Ukyou asked.
     Ranma cringed. "Don't even ask that. That's a decision I could
never make, Ucchan." Ranma shook his head, his face twisted as he tried
to wrestle with a possibility that defied his mind. 
     "It was worse for Akane," Ukyou said as she walked back to Ranma.
"She blamed herself for your death. She thought that if she had just
told you that your curse did not matter, you would be alive. Some of it
also came from the fact that she never gave up hope that you were still
alive. Many of us thought that way for the first year. But she took it
further, never losing hope, even after the funeral service we held for
you after everyone had accepted that you would not be back. You had been
gone for three years. It was just such a long time, especially for you.
Akane could not really live with the thought of your death. I think the
only reason she did not kill herself was because Ryouga and I would
never leave her side for those first two years. Every time she became
depressed or started thinking about you, one of us would be there to
comfort her. It is just recently that she has gotten over most of it so
that she could get on with her life. For the past two years she has been
trying to put you behind her and move on, but I don't think she ever
gave up her dream of having you back." Ranma nodded, he remembered her
saying something like that last night. "And now you are suddenly back
into her life, but it is not really you, Ranma. Here is a person that
she does not remember. Even I don't see the old you when I look at you.
You have grown up, matured. The boy Akane and I knew is really dead."
     "I'm sorry if I changed, Ucchan. But a lot of this wasn't my idea.
I didn't have much of a choice about having Ranko. It was either do it
or never be cured."
     "Parenthood is just part of it, Ranma. I see pain in your eyes,
sometimes even fear, when you talk about what happened to you. Almost
every moment you are around us you seem slightly preoccupied by some-
thing, as if you are holding a second conversation. Then you are always
checking on Ranko, watching her. Akane does not really know you any
more. I think she just needs your understanding, and a person to talk to
just as much as you do. You could both help each other."
     Ukyou feel silent and watched Ranma walking beside her for a while,
eventually he spoke. "You are a good friend , Ucchan," he said, taking
her hand and squeezing it lightly. Ukyou felt her heart quiver in
excitement, but suppressed it. She had given him up and let Akane have
him.
     "You're right. I think I need to talk to, Akane. Do you think you
could leave us alone for awhile? Just me, her, and Ranko?" he asked.
     Ukyou sighed, she knew she could not refuse, "Hai, I can do that
Ranchan. I'll just say I need to open the restaurant. Don't worry, she
won't protest."
     "Arigato, Ucchan," Ranma said, "Let's go back. I need to get this
settled. I cannot watch her suffer. And I really do miss her." Slipping
her arm into his, Ranma guided Ukyou back down the path, neither of them
speaking as they both concentrated on the beauty of the spring morning.
     
     With stoic calm, Akane watched Ranma and Ukyou walk down the path
side by side. She didn't turn away until they had disappeared around a
bend that led into a grove of dense trees. Sighing, Akane turned her
attention back to the playground. Although she would have preferred to
be the one walking with Ranma, she was not going to begrudge him a
chance to reacquaint himself with Ukyou. Of course she had selfish
reasons for allowing him to go off with Ukyou. With him around it was
impossible for her to concentrate. She was constantly glancing over at
him, trying to make herself believe it wasn't a dream. Then there were
all the doubts that his continued presence forced on her.
     Shaking her head, as if it would clear her mind, Akane turned her
attention on Ranma's daughter. Ranko was easy to spot among the other
children in the park. Her flaming red hair marked her as distinctively
as it had Ranma's cursed form, but the hair was only a part of the
difference. Ranko bounded between groups of children with a seemingly
endless supply of energy. Most of the children centered on one activity,
whether tag or playing on the slides. Ranko flitted from one activity to
another like a bee from flower to flower. She was obviously unable to
choose between her new found playmates.
     As Akane watched Ranko, a frown began to form on her brow.
Although she could understand Ranko continuing to move about from one
group to another, even a child had to choose at one point. Ranko never
did. Instead, she finally left the playground and walked over to the
pond where she began to pick up stones and drop them into the water,
watching the ripples each stone created.
     Akane knew the cause. Ranko hadn't fit in with the other children. 
     In a way it made sense. How could a child who had grown up with
only her father for a friend even understand what other children wanted?
Watching Ranko skip stones, Akane was fairly sure Ranma had no under- 
standing how much that had affected his daughter. But was there more to
it? Ranma's bizarre story of his daughter's aging had to be a part of
the problem. 
     Akane shook her head. It was hard to believe that the girl, who
appeared to be four years old, was approaching her second birthday. It
was even more confusing when Ranko began to act like an adult. Of course
Ranko did act like a child. Akane had seen her bounding through the
apartment, trying her damn best to get into trouble so her father would
chase after her. At those times, Ranko was a normal, bubbly, inquisitive
girl discovering the vast secrets of the world. It was the other times
that weighed on Akane's thoughts like snow upon evergreen boughs. Ranma
had awoken that morning with a slightly troubled expression on his face.
For some reason, Ranko had gone straight to her father and held out her
arms. Ranma had unconsciously picked up his daughter as he headed for
the bathroom, gently rocking her in his arms. Though it appeared that he
was comforting Ranko, Akane saw much of the tension leave Ranma's face
as Ranko snuggled against him, her hand gently touching his cheek as if
he were the child and she the parent.
     When they had come to the breakfast table, Ranma had been haler
in his visage, yet Ranko was still watching him with worried, compas-
sionate, wide blue eyes. There was a maturity in those eyes that Akane
could not fathom, nor did she want to. She simply discarded the wild
possibilities as a reaction to how she had grown up. Maybe Ranko had
just learned that her presence was comforting to her father, and at the
same time began to pick up on when Ranma needed her.
     There had to be a reason for Ranko's behaviour. Ranma had explained
what had happened, but the disturbing account Ranma had given Akane and
his cryptic words of, "I hope not," when she had asked Ranma whether
Ranko was connected to his curse as more than a cure, disturbed her and
left her with more questions than answers. And if it disturbed and
troubled her, what must it be doing to Ranma? If nothing else was
certain about Ranma, it was his devotion to Ranko. The irrationality and
dark aspects of the predicament were probably haunting Ranma every time
he was with his daughter. 
     Akane sighed. It was one more obstacle Ranma and herself had to
overcome, but maybe it was one in which they might both work together.
For a moment, Akane tried to put herself in Ranma's shoes. She tried to
look at the situation from his unique perspective. After a time she gave
up. It was an exercise in futility. There was nothing she could grasp at
that she could even begin to make an assumption. Their lives had taken
divergent paths, and it would be a miracle if either could reconcile
even a small part of their personalities with the other.
      The simple fact was that maturity had come to them in different
forms. Though both had gained it through hardship, the nature of the
path taken were varied and different. A mountain had stood before each.
Ranma had taken the high path, and began his climb with the start of his
quest for a cure. Through hope, determination, disappointment, and
perseverance he had carved a mold for his soul to fill as he struggled
ever upward and finally emerging on the top of that mountain as a new
hewn man, cast from the original mold, but of a greater strength and
character. Akane had seen that person through the burning strength in
Ranma's grey-blue eyes that burned as brightly next to the passion for
life he had discovered within himself. It did not, however end there.
     Parenthood was another step that had carried him farther from her,
forcing him to reach toward the next peak and the peaks after that one.
In the nurturing of a child, Ranma had gained the patience, compassion,
and understanding he had always seemed to lack. His devotion to Ranko
was as fierce as his protective nature of Akane herself. But unlike with
her, Ranma had found in Ranko a way to express his emotions without
fear. In many ways, Ranko was the avenue to Ranma's heart.
     Of course, Akane would never say Ranma's path had been the more
difficult of the two. His was different. Where he had climbed the
mountain to reach the next peak, Akane had tried to skirt around the
edge, and eventually, tunnel into the depths beneath it. What Ranma had
gained through trial, she had gained through grief, loss, and anger as
the oppressive weight of the mountain crushed down on her, leaving her
in darkness to gouge out a tunnel to the daylight with her bare fingers.
Life had been a series of horrors for Akane, instead of the bolstering
events and achievements Ranma had lived through. 
     The loss of her mother had started Akane down the slippery slope
that led to the dark underworld. The grief and pain had caused a cocoon
to form around the young Akane, transforming her into a tough and
belligerent girl who led life minute by minute, unwilling and unable to
deal with the future or past. She had used the anger and to protect her
from the emptiness within her and the loss that would occur from
attaching herself to anyone outside of her little world.
     When Ranma had entered her life, she had tried to keep him out,
but the more she pushed him away, the harder he seemed to try and find a
crack within her cocoon. Of course he had gone about it in a way that
brought more grief to the both of them, but in the end, his persistence
had cracked the shell. She had emerged and allowed herself to love him,
giving him her whole soul to keep as his own. She had not known how to
be cautious. Her world was always ones of extremes. She either hated or
loved. Their was no middle ground, and so, when the news of Ranma's
death had reached her, her life had ended.
     Ranma had carried her higher up the mountain than Akane had ever
dared to climb herself. He had given her his love, although reluctantly.
He had affirmed their engagement, though it had been a promise to
return, and they had given themselves to each other. Akane had known she
was loved, and Ranma's love had held her aloft. Then he had let her hand
go, telling her to fly on her own while he became a full man.
     At first she was terrified at being on her own, but she soon
discovered she could continue her life without him beside her every
moment of the day. She found that the strength within her, which had
always kept Ranma and others at bay, allowed her to continue to soar. It
was the loneliness that she hated. She had been alone during most of her
life and had latched onto Ranma as if he were her old security blanket.
With his absence, it had felt more like her mother's death than her few
short months of happiness with Ranma. That had been unbearable, but then
the stone had struck her, tumbling her to the ground as if a hunter had
pierced her heart as she flew sedately above the land. Ranma had died.
     Her world ended that day. The horror of the fact had sent her into
near hysteria. She had plummeted to the earth and continued through it
into the darkest depths. It was pure luck her own life had not abruptly
ended that day also. Those days were a haze as she adjusted to her new
surroundings. For a time she cared little whether she climbed above that
darkness again. Only the outside encouragement had forced her to make a
half-hearted attempt at reclaiming her life. Even then, she left a part
of herself in that darkness to always fester withing the pain and grief.
     For four years she had grieved. For four years her life had
consisted of uncertainty, depression, and anger. Anger at herself. Anger
at the world. Anger at life. But most importantly, anger and rage at
Ranma, who had left her behind. 
     It had not been pleasant. Very little in the past four years had
been pleasant for Akane. Even Ukyou and Ryouga had only been a buffer
between her and the all-consuming pain. They were someone to lean on
when the weight of the mountain was too great. They were safety ropes
that kept her from losing ground, but they couldn't mend a broken heart.
They couldn't pull her from the depths. No one had been able to do that,
and so she had suffered in silence.
     "It's not fair," Akane murmured, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Why did he have to leave? Why didn't I just tell him that he was man
enough?" The past, however, was unchangeable and, like the smelting of
gold, had to have the impurities skimmed off before happiness could be
found beneath. Akane had watched the impurities accumulate for years,
and now, when she needed to find the gold beneath, she could only see
the insurmountable task of wading through the sludge, hoping not to
drown as was her want when she attempted to swim.
     A soft sob escaped Akane's lips, and then she was crying, the
tears spilling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms about her chest
in a vain effort to comfort herself. Time was lost as she cried out her
sorrows, until she felt a small body climbing into her lap and two small
arms wrap around her body. Akane opened her arms and pulled the small
comforter tighter against her, rocking back and forth. 
     As her tears dried up, she felt a feather-light touch upon her
cheek. Cautiously, she opened her eyes only to find herself looking at
two round, grey-blue eyes, misted with unshed tears. Akane was so
surprised by Ranko's presence that she didn't hear the girl speak the
first time. 
     When Akane didn't answer, Ranko seemed to understand what the
problem was and repeated the question. "Why are you crying, Akane-
obachan? Did you hurt yourself? Do you want me to kiss it and make it
better." Ranko showed a scratch on her own arm that she had gotten the
other day. "Otousan makes my hurts go away." 
     Akane shook her head. "It's not that kind of hurt, Ranko."
     For a moment Ranko pouted, but after a moment of reflection, her
face lit up, and she slipped her slim arms around Akane in a loose hug
as she burrowed into Akane's body. "Otousan can make everything better."
     Though it was coincidence, the uncanny accuracy of that statement
struck Akane hard. Ranma was the key to her happiness. She needed him in
her life more than a junkie needed the next hit. There was no question
that she could never live without him again, but was she going to him
because she loved him or because she had become too dependent on him.
His absence had scarred her, and because of that her grief had turned
into anger and hate. Even though she loved him beyond measure, Akane
hated Ranma for what he had done to her. She had blamed herself for his
death yet blamed him even more for leaving her. Because of this, any
relationship they formed had to be started with forgiveness. Not Ranma's
but hers. Without that forgiveness, she'd only turn their life together
into a living hell.
     Pulling Ranko closer and resting her head on the child's copper
curls, Akane closed her eyes. After knowing Ranma for nearly eight
years, it was easy for her to say "I love you." She would have shouted
those words from the highest peak with little encouragement, but in all
those years, neither of them had learned how to say "I'm sorry. I was
wrong," and because of that they had never learned to say, "It's okay. I
understand." To make the task even more impossible, Akane knew Ranma
could never apologize for what he did. Akane understood why he had gone,
what he had been trying to accomplish, but their karma had always been
inclined toward tragedy. She had to forgive him for the inconsolable
suffering she was forced to live with for the rest of her life. To
forgive him for the dark memories of countless nights spent curled
around
her pillow, crying until her eyes were drying and still feeling this
empty, tight ball that had no way of being unwound. To forgive him for
her depressions and all the problems that had left scars upon her heart
and mind. It was not fair that she was made to suffer. Why couldn't he
have just married her, or given her something to hold onto while he was
away? What use was a simple gold ring when her heart was ripped out of
her chest? 
     Akane opened her eyes and inhaled in the fresh scent of Ranko's
hair. Ranma had someone to love. It didn't matter how many times Ranma
stated that he loved her and could never live without her. He had Ranko
to carrying him through the dark times and to help mend his heart. Who
did she have? No one. Maybe things would have been different if Ranma
had given her someone like Ranko, a child that she could have devoted
her life to instead of the emptiness she endured because her friends and
family loved her too much for her to break their hearts.
     There had been a chance. The night before Ranma's departure, they
had been together, just once, but once was all it took. Neither of them
had expected a long separation. Neither of them had realized what the
future would entail. Akane had only looked at the fact that she was
still in high school and did not want to get pregnant, so they had taken
precautions. 
     After Ranma's death had been revealed, Akane often wondered if she
might have gotten pregnant that night, if she would've had a child by
her Ranma. She would've had something to remember Ranma by. A small
child to take his place in her heart, but those were paths untrodden,
left in the past. Yet holding Ranko's small body to her, feeling the
love the child felt for her, Akane knew that those paths would have been
the brighter ones to follow.
     So, in the end, she was the only who could be hurt again. Ranma had
his daughter. All of their old friends had found someone. Maybe she
could find a life with Ryouga, but it'd be empty and hollow. She needed
Ranma, but she couldn't find the strength to forgive him. "I just don't
know what to do," Akane whispered in a choked voice.
     "Talk to Otousan," Ranko stated in a solemn voice.
     "Nani?" Akane asked, slightly perturbed by the frequency Ranko's
innocuous statements had of reflecting reality and relating common
sense.
     "Otousan knows everything," Ranko informed Akane. "He can fix
anything. I know." She sounded almost proud of herself, as if she had
taught her father everything he knew.
     "It's nothing your father can help me with." Yes it is, she told
herself silently, Ranma could solve all of her problems. "He wouldn't
know what to do."
     "Yes he would," Ranko protested. "Otousan knows a lot of stuff. He
knows how to play games, and to cook, and to do katas, and to make hurts
go away," Ranko continued to rattle off a list of attributes that her
father had, looking like an accountant the way she ticked each off on
her petite fingers. "How to make bad dreams go away, how to tell
stories, how to do everything," she finished with a knowing smile.
     "He can't help with this," Akane's stubbornness replied patiently
as the girl took on a stubborn expression that so characterized her
father that Akane almost gave in at that point. "He knows those things
about you because you are his daughter and he loves you."
     "He loves you," Ranko answered defiantly. "He told me so. He also
told me you'd be my mother." She paused for a second, thinking. "Will
you?"
     "Will I what?" 
     "Be my mother. I don't have mother."
     "I don't know, Ranko-chan," Akane answered truthfully, ecstatic at
the subject change.
     Ranko's lower lip began to tremble. "Why not?" she cried. "Why
can't you be. It's not fair." 
     Ranko tried to pull away, but Akane grabbed her and smothered the
child in a hug. "Shh," she whispered as Ranko began to cry. "I wish I
could be your mother, Ranko-chan. I love you very much." Akane kissed
the
top of Ranko's head as she caressed the child's hair with her free hand.
"I can't be your mother unless I marry your father."
     "Then marry him," Ranko demanded. "I wanna mother."
     Sighing in frustration, Akane held Ranko tighter and began to
gently rock her. "I know. I know." Falling silent, she held Ranma's
daughter and tried to find a way to appease Ranko. Obviously the girl
was serious in her request. Akane didn't want to hurt Ranko. It was
probably all Ranma's fault anyway. Most likely he'd been telling Ranko
that she'd be her mother since they had left the valley to come back to
Japan. Akane didn't really mind that Ranma had made that kind of
promise. Ranko was a lovely child. It was impossible for Akane not to
love her and to not want to take care of her. Searching her soul, Akane
found a decision that would work for both of them, at least partially. 
     "Ranko, I do love you, and I'd love to be your mother," Akane
offered gently, "but I may not be able to be your mother all the time. I
promise to be your mother whenever were together. Is that alright?"
     Ranko lifted her head from Akane's breast and glanced up. She was
quiet for a moment, and then she nodded. A smile lit up her face briefly
before disappearing. "Hai, but I want you full-time."
     "That's between your father and me," Akane explained. "Why don't we
go play and you let me worry about everything else."
     "Hai, Okaasan!' Ranko gushed popping out of Akane's arms faster
than Akane could react. Clapping her hands together, Ranko rushed down
the hill toward the pond. She was halfway down when she realized her
mother wasn't with her. Turning around, she held out her arms. "C'mon,
Okaasan. Swing me!"
     A smile lit across Akane's face as the exuberance Ranko radiated
began to infect her. Standing up, Akane sprinted down the hill and
gabbed Ranko on the run. Slowing slightly, Akane began to spin the girl
in fast circles, her problems forgotten as her and Ranko's laughter
filled the air.

     Ranma stood with Ukyou at the picnic site, watching Akane and
Ranko play by the pool. Both were laughing out loud as Akane spun
Ranko around by her arms. Faster and faster they turned until they
collapsed on the ground in a giggling heap. He smiled as he watched the
sight. It warmed his heart to see them together like that. It was
something he wanted more than anything else, the three of them together,
forever.
     "You love her very much, don't you?" Ukyou asked next to him.
     "Yes," he answered, "They are the reason behind my life. For them
I would do anything."
     Ukyou sighed, knowing she could never win Ranma's heart now.
"C'mon, let's tell Akane I have to be somewhere."
     "Hai," Ranma said absently, not really paying attention to Ukyou.
He was still watching his daughter and his iinazuke. Enjoying the sight,
until Ukyou grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down toward Akane
and Ranko.
     
     Ranma and Akane sat quietly next to each other by the edge of the
pool. The mirror-smooth surface reflected the afternoon sun, turning the
water into a sheet of quicksilver. Birds trilled in the branches above
them as a cool breeze rustled the reeds by the pond's edge. 
     Ranko played gaily along the edge of the pond, her laughter
mixing with the sounds of the park. It was peaceful. It had a feel of
home, and comfort to it. Many people walked past the sight and thought
how lovely that family was, and wished to be a part of it. They would
have been surprised if they knew how close their thoughts were to
Akane's and Ranma's. 
     Since Ukyou had excused herself, nearly an hour ago, they had
quietly reclined together. Both spent the time lost in their own
thoughts, trying to find out what each wanted to say to the other.
     Silently Ranma cursed. It always was like this. They could never
get past the obstacle of their own stubborn wills and hidden feelings
when they wanted to. Only once had Ranma done that, and it had been six
years ago on the day he had left. The day he had proposed to her. Idly,
he wondered where the ring he had given her was. Ukyou had said she had
never given up hope, but six years was a long time. He had to know. He
had to try and make things work between him and Akane.
     Clearing his throat he turned towards Akane, about to pursue their
past relationship. Akane turned to face him as he cleared his throat.
Ranma saw her eyes and stopped himself short. In her eyes he saw
confusion and fear, but more than that he saw indecision and a deep
abiding sorrow that permeated every corner of her being. Seeing those
eyes, he was reminded of being in a village that had been struck by an
earthquake. While his father dug for survivors, Ranma wandered lost.
Somehow he found himself walking along a street that had been completely
razed. He was about to turn back when he saw an older woman kneeling
beside the wreckage. Concerned, Ranma walked to her and put his hand on
her shoulder. She started when he touched her shoulder. "Kenji? Is that
you Kenji?" she asked turning to Ranma.
     For a moment Ranma saw her clutching the broken form of a child,
but then he saw her eyes. They were filled with the same sorrow he saw
in Akane's. It was hopeless and verging on the edge of madness. Ranma
had run from the old woman at that moment, her cries for Kenji following
him down the street. Ranma could not run from this moment, however.
     He gulped once, and tried to speak but found nothing. It was easy
for him to hide his own feelings, to push them down and not face them.
He had done that his entire life. It was hard for his emotions to reach
him. During his life, it had become a necessity to distance himself from
them, especially after the curse. If he hadn't, he probably would have
gone insane. Despite having control over himself, over Akane's emotions,
he had no control, and because he could not control them and make the
hurt go away for her, he tried his hardest to make sure she never got
hurt. He had made sure that no one made Akane cry, that no one hurt her
in any way. But now she was hurt and it was his fault. He had made her
cry, weep, and suffer through four years of hell. How could he make
amends for that?
     He started the best way he could. "I'm sorry, Akane-chan.  I never
wanted to hurt you." He knew he had already said that a dozen times
since returning, but it was the only thing he could think of to say.
     "I know you are," Akane answered, her voice quivering slightly. "I
know you didn't. It's just...it's just that..." she floundered, looking
for something that was not there.
     "It's just what?" he asked. Akane shook her head and lowered her
gaze from Ranma's. She looked so miserable and lost that Ranma nearly
howled in frustration at his impotency in this situation, "Akane-chan,"
he begged, "please tell me. I can't help if you don't tell me what's
wrong." Reaching out he touched her cheek gently, his forefinger tracing
her jaw-line down to her chin and lifting her head slightly so she was
looking into his eyes. "Please tell me."
     Something broke open inside Akane at Ranma's touch, the tone of his
voice, the trust and love in his eyes, "I don't know," she almost
screamed in frustration. Though she didn't scream her voice was still
loud and full of emotion, "It's you, me, and Ranko. It's everything.
Nothing is the same. Nothing can be the same again."
     Ranma was surprised by this, although it had been what he had
expected, she sounded like she was giving up on everything in life. He
didn't know what to say. He just tried to comfort her, the words coming
from somewhere, "That's not true Akane."
     "It is. You just can't see it."
     "All I see is the hurt in your eyes. I know I made you cry, I know
I ripped apart your life. All I know is that, when I see you like this,
it hurts me so much that I just want to hold you until the pain goes
away. I feel so helpless right now. I want to protect you, shelter you,
but I don't know how to do it. I don't want you to suffer."
     "Then why did you leave?!" she demanded hotly.
     "To be a man. To be a man, whole and complete, just for you," Ranma
answered truthfully.
     "Ranma no baka!" she screamed, tears running down her cheeks, "I
didn't care whether you were a full man. In either form it is still you.
I loved you, not your manhood. Can't you understand that I would have
married you no matter what? It was not the body, but the heart that I
loved." 
     Ranma stared at her shocked. She had never told him how she felt
about his curse, but then he had never asked, assuming she wanted a real
man, not some hentai shape-shifter. Yet if it did not matter to her, it
did to him. "Akane-chan," he said, grasping her hand, "Maybe you could
live with me like that. I couldn't. I couldn't stand the thought of you
waking up with me in the morning to find a girl in your bed. I couldn't
live to have our children try and figure out who was their mother. I
needed to be a real man for myself before I could be with you. That is
why I left. If I had the choice again, I would do the same thing."
     "Baka! Why can you not let go of your pride? Is it that hard to
just face yourself? Your pride destroyed me Ranma. Your silly quest took
away four years of my life. It gave me four years of suffering and
anguish. Was your pride really worth it?"
     "I did it for love, Akane-chan."
     "Love and pride are the same for you Ranma," Akane said quietly,
"Everything is a contest you have to win. But your not winning this. You
almost lost me Ranma, and I did lose you. But I don't know if I can or
want to have you back."
     Ranma's heart stopped, his mind froze. The words hit him like a
bullet, shattering his state of mind. Grief, rage, anger, everything
rose up within him washing over him, drowning him. He saw the truth, and
it terrified him. He shook his head silently mouthing 'no' over and over
again. He had almost lost her. He might still lose her, and for what, to
just be a whole man? What was so wrong with being a full man, he asked
himself.
     'No, you didn't want to be with her as a freak.' 
     'I did everything for, love,' he raged silently. 
     'You did nothing for love. You were proving how much of a man you
were,' the other voice shot back. 
     'I gave my life to searching for a cure. I gave birth for it. I
fought for it. I did it all so she could love me without regret.'    
     'No, you did it all so you could prove yourself worthy of her,
when you had already won her. You wasted six years for pride Ranma. You
were not a man then. You are not a man right now, but you could be. Can
you be a man, Ranma?' The voice stopped. 
     'Who are you? How?' Ranma demanded silently in his mind. But it was
gone. And he was left empty and scared because he knew the voice was
right. For the first time in his life he saw the truth, the error of his
ways. He saw everything he had always done for his overbearing pride. He
had to the best. He had to prove himself to everyone in everything. And
because of that he was now about to lose Akane. He was about to lose the
center of his life.
     Glancing over at Akane, he searched her face for some sign that
would tell him she was lying, that it was a mistake. Her face was drawn
tight, her lips held into a thin line as her eyes misted. Ranma knew
Akane. He could tell she was trying to hold back her tears. Then he
looked deep into her eyes, and found his answer in the pained grief he
saw there and the firm set of her jaw.
     The world around him stopped, the warbling birds fading to
nothing, the breeze dying and passing around him as if he were a damned
soul doomed to wander the earth. There was nothing except the empty pit
in his stomach. It was the same emptiness that had burned within him as
he held her within Saffron's cave, a feeling of complete and unutterable
loss. "No," he whispered hoarsely, shaking his head in denial. He had
not
lost her. It was impossible for him to lose her. But in her face and her
eyes, the terrible truth shown brightly.
     "No!" he nearly screamed, slamming his fist into the rough ground,
scraping the flesh from his knuckles. Dimly, he saw Akane's shoulders
begin to shake and then she was crying. He could feel the tears in his
eyes wetting his cheeks, but he angrily brushed them away. Then he felt
Ranko's soft, comforting presence slip into his lap and hold tightly
to him. Automatically his arms snaked around the girl and pulled her
close, burying his face in her soft hair. For a time it was silent. He
rocked his daughter and listened to his heart scream at him. 
     His knuckles were throbbing and he knew he was going to break
down. Ranko had that effect on him. An unreasonable desire to flee
filled
his mind, but it was squashed as he realized that if he left, he would
lose Akane for good. In his life he had made many mistakes. Maybe he
should've never have gone to Jusenkyo. Maybe he should've tried to
resolve his problems earlier. Maybe he shouldn't have left. A thousand
maybes, but entertaining each was as futile as counting grains of sand.
In the end it came down to the fact that he had broken his promise to
Akane. He had given her his word and the ring to seal it that they would
always be together, that he would always be there for her. In his
prideful pursuit of his own selfish ends he had left that promise by the
wayside, just as Akane had left her ring behind her.
     "That was why you took off the ring," Ranma stated quietly,
raising his eyes to Akane's form. She was turned away from him, her
shoulders shaking in silent grief. "Because it didn't mean anything?"
     She shook her head.
     "Then why?"
     "Because I couldn't, I can't, give up hope. I did not want to admit
you were dead, but everyone kept telling me to put it behind, and move
on. I consented and took it off my finger for them."
     "Oh..." Ranma began before Akane cut him off as she continued.
     "Instead I put it on a necklace." She turned around to face him and
pulled a silver, braided necklace from her shirt with a simple gold ring
dangling from the chain, "I wear it next to my heart, to remind me of
your promise, to remind me of you. It was my only hope, that you would
come back and fulfill your promise. I loved you, and I always will. But
now, I don't know if I can." A single tear rolled down he cheek, along
her jaw to fall onto the grass. For some reason that single tear burned
a hole in Ranma's heart. Behind it were tens, maybe hundreds of
thousands of tears that had worked slowly up to this one. Tears he had
brought into her life because of his own stupidity.
     "A promise is useless if there is no one there to fulfill it,"
Ranma said quietly. Pulling Ranko closer, he tried to put all of the
love he felt for her into a single glance. "I was wrong to go away,
Akane. I was just too stupid to realize it. I was too proud to marry you
as a freak. I couldn't stand it. I thought you ha to feel the same  bout
it, but I couldn't ask you. I can't just come out and admit something
like that. It like I give something away that can hurt me, but I gave
you my heart a long time ago. Losing that hurts a helluva lot more than
some one laughing at you or thinking you're weak. I'm sorry. I guess I
really don't deserve you, but I still love you. I always will, and
nothing'll change that." Ranma dropped his eyes from her. "You were
always right, ya know. Ranma no baka."
     Akane stared at him for a few moments, sniffling as her eyes
misted, before taking his rough hand in her small hand. "You are not
stupid, Ran-chan," she said. "Ignorant maybe, misguided definitely, but
not stupid. Maybe we both were too proud to admit our feelings. Maybe it
was both our faults. I didn't care about the curse, Ran-chan. I loved
your spirit. I loved the way you stood up for me and protected me. I
loved your noble and kind heart. I loved you, Saotome Ranma." Slowly she
reached out and touched his cheek, her fingers traveling over the
weather-beaten skin.
     At the same moment Ranma reached out and tugged on the necklace
until the clasp was in his fingers. Unhooking it, he pulled the necklace
and the ring from Akane's neck, and held it in his hand. He looked at
the gold ring. It had symbolized so much for him. It had been his
promise to her, and he had almost broken it for his pride. It had been a
symbol of the love he so rarely expressed, and it had been hidden from
her
sight for years. It had encapsulated everything that his life had come
to mean for him, and he had carelessly dismissed it like some third-rate
sushi. Now he had the chance to do the right thing, and he didn't know
if she truly wanted he ring back on her finger.
     Nervously, Ranma ran his thumb over the smooth gold.  "Could we
try to make things work, Akane?" he asked quietly. "Maybe we've been
given a second chance. Im don't wanna lose that. I need you, Akane. I've
always needed you. Something is just missing when your not there, like
I'm just this shell walking around with nothing inside. Without you, I
would only have Ranko to make my life worth living, but even she is
because of you. It would be empty without you Akane-chan. I have already
gone six years without you, and that was bad enough. I couldn't go on
like that for the rest of my life."
     He clutched his hand around the ring. He had to do I. But what if
she said no? He knew he could do nothing and they could both return to
her apartment and continue to live in cold silence with each other,
always skirting around an ever growing wall between them. It'd be like
before he left, but was that the way to her heart?
     'You will have lost her then, and nothing could gain her back.
Take the final step. Put yourself in her hands, let her decide. Trust in
your love,' the comforting voice whispered in his ear. In Ranma's arms,
ranko turned her blue-grey eyes upwards and smiled encouragingly at her
father. Her gaze gave him strength, it said do it. He would
     Ranma began speaking, "I've made a mess of things. It can't all be
healed quickly though. But I know I can't give up without trying to fix
things, to make them better. Akane, I love you, I always have, I always
will. My pride almost destroyed that. It almost made me break a promise
I made to you. I don't want that to happen. I don't want to break my
word with you.
     "I made a promise to you, Akane." He held out the ring to her. "I
promised to love only you. I promised to be a man, and to marry you when
I was one. I've cured the curse, not because I fought and conquered, and
overcame hardship, but you're right. It ain't nothing. What good does it
do me if I can't have you. All that stuff was just a way to try and
avoid things and make it seem like I was worthy of you. Maybe I am,
maybe I'm not, but I do know who I am, and that's the most important
part. I'm a man because I've faced myself. I'm a man because I can admit
my mistakes and try and amend them. So let me keep my promise, Akane.
Let me show you that I care. Let me be a man and a lover for you. Let me
be your husband. Can you still marry me? Will you still marry me?"
     Akane sat quietly, contemplating what Ranma had said. Her anger
disappeared as he spoke to her. She was just too surprised by Ranma's
confession. He never admitted to being wrong. For some reason that
simple apology was beyond her scope. In one moment he had taken all of
her suffering and the pain she had endured and made it his fault and his
alone. He wasn't asking for her forgiveness, he was telling her he would
always forgive her because he wasn't deserving of her. She wanted to
reach out and touch him, hold him. She wanted to say yes to him, to
just make all the pain go away, but was this enough?
     Everything she had said was the truth. It had just not been what
she had wanted to tell him. She had not wanted to unburden herself like
that, throw everything she hated about him, had come to hate about him
over the past six years directly into his face. All the anguish, the
misery of her life without him had been thrown into it. All the
confusion of his return and her own conflicting feelings, had just
fueled the flame. 
     She had no clue what was going on. She did not know if she could
still love him the way he wanted her to. She did not know if they could
make it together now. Too much had changed. She didn't know what she
wanted anymore.
     No that was not true. She wanted Ranma. She needed him. Without
him, her life had been empty, meaningless. Did she want that again? Did
she want to lose him after finding him? Did she want to throw away her
only chance for happiness? It had not worked out the way she had always
dreamed. He had not come back quickly, smiling. He had come back
burdened, changed. He was someone she did not really know, but it was
still Ranma. She could see the flashes every so often, like at lunch.
     And Ranko, Ranko was just another complication. Akane knew she
could love the child, did love the girl. It was just her presence that
unnerved her. There were too many unanswered questions about all of
this. But would they become answered if she gave up?
     Ranma had said he had become a man. She believed him. He had become
more than the boy she had fallen in love with. He was stronger, more
sure of himself. He still had the noble spirit. She wanted that part
back, and she saw it now in his plea. He had unburdened himself to her.
He had taken a chance. Could she do the same? She loved him. She wanted
him by her side. She knew she had to try and make it work. No matter how
difficult the road. He was right. They had been given a second chance.
She was not going to waste it. She was not going to lose him like the
last time.
     Slowly she brought her eyes to meet Ranma's. Desperation, resigna-
tion, hope, they all passed through his eyes as she looked into them. He
looked so frightened, and unsure of himself now. He was putting every
thing in his life on the line here, and she knew it was in her hands.
She reached out and took the ring from him.
     "Ranma," she said, "I don't want to lose you again. I couldn't take
it again. I need you by my side, as a friend, a lover, and my husband. I
want to make this work. I want to be happy again." 
     She felt the tears brimming in her eyes as Ranma carefully took the
ring from her. Taking it off the necklace, he slipped it onto her ring
finger. Feeling the weight of the ring back on her finger after being a
weight around her neck for o many years, Akane couldn't help herself as
a few tears began to roll down her cheeks. They didn't travel far as
Ranma's finger caught them and brushed them away. "I don't want you
crying because of me anymore, Akane-chan." He smiled and leaned down
until their faces were inches from each other. She closed her eyes as he
lifted her chin and gently cupped her face. "I promise, I will never
leave you again, never hurt you again. I will love you forever." 
     His breath was hot on her face, and then his lips were a cool
breeze against her own before they lit a spark that rushed through her
body. Akane lost herself in his embrace. It was only the two of them.
Their lips touching, his arms gently holding her. She wanted it to last
forever. She did not want to lose this feeling. It was right. It was
what she wanted.
     The kiss ended eventually. Ranma reluctantly broke it off as the
forgotten Ranko squirmed between the two. Blushing, Akane smiled at
Ranma. It was a start. She hoped it would never end.
      For the first time in many years, Ranma was completely happy. He
had his Akane back in his arms, completely and totally his. He knew he
would not lose her this time. He would do everything to keep her. 
     He held Ranko against him. A family. That was what they would be,
and no one would ever come between them. 'Good,' the voice observed
quietly. 
     Ranma almost answered, but Ranko touched his face gently, and the
snuggled against him. He looked at her and wondered. There were still
things that he had to figure out. At least one problem was behind him.
     Holding his hand out to Akane, he stood up. "I think it is time to
go home, Akane-chan," He said, taking her hand and pulling her to her
feet.
     "Hai, I think that would be nice," she said, linking her arm with
his as they started walking away. 
     "Ranma?" she asked him suddenly.
     "Hai?" he mumbled.
     "I think you need to tell everyone that your alive."
     "Yeah, I guess I probably should," he said looking nervously down
at Ranko, who was skipping around them.
     "Well they everyone is having dinner at the dojo tomorrow night,"
she explained, "It would be the best time. Besides, I want to tell them
about us." She leaned slightly against him and kissed his cheek.
     Ranma looked at Ranko. He had to tell them sometime. Besides, he
wanted to talk with Dr. Tofu. Maybe he could explain everything or at
least some things to him. "Sure, Akane-chan. I need to do it sooner or
later," he agreed after a few moments of indecision.
     Akane smiled, Ranma was nervous. Ranko ran ahead, exited by the
prospect of meeting her grandparents. Even Ranma's unease failed to
deter her enthusiasm. Something was going to happen. She felt it in the
air.  


Author's Notes:

     You'd think rewriting would be easier than the actual writing, but
no, things are never that simple. Everytime I read through this story I
find more things to change and rearrange just for the hell of it, or I
see at least a dozen examples of scenes I neeed to add or completely
revamp. Of course if I did that, I'd be sitting in front of my computer
for the rest of my life, oy!
     There's not much that I really want to say. The story is slowly
progressing to the point where some of the mysteries will start to be
illuminated. The next part is in debate right now. Actually I'm deciding
wheher to rewrite the orginal part 5 or to write a new part 5 and bump
everything up a number. Oh well, that is my problem and not yours.

     Until next time 
     Joseph A. Kohle

   ---*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*----*---
   All rights and priveleges to Ranma Nibunnoichi       
   belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The characters of           
   Her series are used without her permission for        
   the purpose of entertainment only. This work of 
   fiction is not meant for sale or profit.                    
            
   All original characters are the creation of the
   author. All copyright privileges to these chara-
   cters are reserved for the author.

   This story is a product of the author's hard work    
   and imagination. Do not modify, add to, or make 
   use of any part of this work without the author's 
   knowledge and consent. Please feel free to archive 
   this work.                             
     
   Comments and criticism are welcome.                   
   Written by Joseph A. Kohle, (c) 1997.                 
   Send all comments to ashira@worldnet.att.net