Ranma 1/2 is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications, 
and a bunch of other people who are not me.  	


(True) Heart's Desire


	 Happosai would never suspect that she had stolen the locket.
Akane told herself that, and to some degree she believed it, but the 
thought of the old pervert chasing after her was still disturbing.  
Well, it was always disturbing, but especially now.  She had a 
decision to make.  So Akane left Nerima, traveling across Tokyo to a 
park on the other side of the city.  There she planned to decide what 
to wish for. 	 
	The locket worked; they had all seen evidence of that. 
 Frankly, she didn't want to know what Happosai had wished for to 
make that thing appear.  Akane had snuck back to the dojo while the 
others hid at the Saotome's house, and had been lucky enough to get 
to the locket while the old lech slept off his big day.  Now it was 
clasped around her neck, hung from a simple golden chain.
	It was a breezy day in the park, and the wind was awash with the 
scent of flowers. Akane strolled down a rocky path, trying to clear 
her mind.  She wasn't used to thinking seriously about the past, or 
about what the future might bring.  Since the engagement, she had 
been especially reluctant to think about the future.  She had her 
dreams, but - but nothing, she realized with a shiver.  They could 
become real now.  
	She had to do this systematically, Akane decided.  She needed to 
isolate what was important to her and analyze it.  She had only one 
wish, and a wish was not a thing to be wasted.  
	The first thing to come to mind, as it was all too often, was Ranma. 
 She thought she might be in love with him.  Should she spend her 
wish to make him hers forever?  A part of Akane shouted no, that she 
shouldn't waste her wish on that pervert; another part shouted yes, 
that there was nothing she wanted more.  But the frightening thought 
was that she might already have him.  Whenever she considered the 
battle with Saffron, the only thing she could manage to think of was 
"I love you;" everything else was a dark miasma beside the light of 
those words.  And they almost been married, already.  The whole thing 
was terrifying; she didn't want to think about it anymore, and she 
didn't want to wish for Ranma.
	She could do something about Ranma's other fiancees.  See how 
Shampoo likes being a cat all the time, or Ukyou being a real man.  
Akane giggled, shaking her head.  She would never do that.  She 
wasn't the vindictive sort; she didn't really want to hurt anyone, 
just to sort of get them out of the way.  It crossed her mind to set 
them up with somebody else; Mousse and Konatsu would be very happy.  
There was something wrong with changing people's minds, though.  It 
was too underhanded, too much like Shampoo's potions.
	Kunou?  Akane dismissed the idea.  Her sisters?  Here was some room 
for improvement, she thought.  Kasumi was a few cards short of a full 
deck, Nabiki as cold as ice, and as for herself, well, she had real 
problems showing her affection.  How could a wish help them, though?  
Nothing struck her, and she didn't want to wish for anything general 
enough to be misinterpreted.
	Material visions swam before her as she took a seat on a wooden 
bench.  She could be rich, richer than anybody, or have perfect 
grades, or admission to the university of her choice.  She could make 
herself a great warrior, and finally show Ranma what was what.  She 
could cook a great meal and shove it in his face.  But no; she wanted 
to do something huge, something significant, not just to change a 
tiny corner of her life.
	Suddenly an idea hit her and she was struck by the simplicity of it, 
grabbed by the force of it, carried away by its allure.  It was 
perfect, it was perfect, and she had wanted it so much for so long.  
	Akane pulled the locket out of her blouse, held it firmly in her 
hand, and spoke clearly the words upon which she had decided.  The 
locket grew red-hot in her hand; she dropped it with a yelp.  It 
rolled between her legs and underneath the bench.  Akane dropped to 
her knees, searching frantically.  The locket was easy to find; it 
flashed like a strobe light in a mesmerizing array of colors, though 
it made not a sound.  It ceased to glow without a moment's warning.  
	Akane reached for it tentatively.  When she could feel no heat 
radiating from it she plucked the locket from the ground and 
reattached it to her chain
	Akane rose to her feet, a nervous tremor running down her legs.  Had 
the wish worked?  Would her will finally be done?  She walked 
hurriedly out of the park, heading for the train station.
	In the end, she had no reason to worry.  When she ran home her 
mother was waiting for her.  

The End

This is my first fanfic...all C&C very much appreciated.

Thomas Schmidt
TSchmidt@trader.com