As promised, here's the final part.  If you
missed any of the preceeding three, let me know and
I'll mail it to you direct.  A lot happens in this
series, so you need to see it all.  This is, as with
the previous Series, based heavily on events and
situations from the preceeding stories, which are
available on my Web Site:

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/9295

As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated.
All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.

Please Enjoy.
Coutuva.




The Death of a Dream - Part 4
---------------------------------------------------------------



	Hitomi was impressed.  As she stood before the large
mirror in the bath, she couldn't help but smile at the intricacy
of the rich pattern Kasumi had weaved into her hair.  It looked
so good that it actually made her feel a bit better.
        "Arigato gozaimashite, Kasumi-sama," she bowed, happily.
"It looks wonderful," she added, again looking it over.
	"Daijobou desu... I had a lot of practice while Akane was
young,"  Kasumi deflected, smiling politely.  She didn't fool
Hitomi, however, as the redhead could sense her companion's pride.
She had to wonder why someone as incredible as Kasumi tried so
hard to downplay her accomplishments, especially since it was
apparent that they meant a lot to her.
	"Would you excuse me, Hitomi-chan?  I came over today to
teach Akane some new recipes, and we really should get started, or
we won't get them all done,"  Kasumi abruptly asked, regarding
Hitomi questioningly.
	Hitomi couldn't help but smirk knowingly.  "Always the
helper, ne?"  she noted, regarding the woman through the mirror.
	Kasumi surprised her with her response.  "Someone has to
keep them in line," she smiled, touching Hitomi's shoulder and
winking.
	As Kasumi walked from the room, Hitomi's face darkened
slightly as she turned back to face the mirror.  She wasn't at
all pleased with her 'role' in the upcoming events, feeling that
there was a lot missing from Joy's description.  Overall, it seemed
a little simplistic to her, given how much had already gone into it.
	As she pondered the situation, she absently started to undo
her kimono, then stopped as she realized she had nothing to change
into.  Just as she was thinking about the unpalatable idea of going
to ask Akane, a wry smile crossed her face.
	Removing the kimono, she stood facing the mirror and closed
her eyes, imagining herself wearing one of her sun dresses.  Opening
her eyes again, she giggled excitedly as she saw that her idea had
worked.  Posing before the mirror happily, she abruptly remembered
how cool it had been earlier, and opted to try something different.
Instantly, she found herself sporting her slinky black flares and
matching green top.
	"Now *this* is useful." she grinned, touching her neck to
add a choker.
	Walking out into the family room again, she passed Akane
bringing the last of the dishes in from the table, and was a bit
surprised by the look she got.  Akane eyed her from head to toe,
then shook her head incredulously as she walked by.  Hitomi had to
grin as she heard Akane muttering under her breath about how she
wished she could wear such things.
	As she entered the family room, she was dismayed to find
that the kids were not there, and neither were Ranma or Joy.
Frowning briefly, she opted to see if the kids were out in the
yard playing, hoping to keep herself distracted for as long as
possible.
	Much to her relief, she found Miyabi and Masao playing
with some kid-sized bokken out near the practice dummy, and decided
to see if she could get in on it.  She smiled at Miyabi's serious
tone as she instructed her little brother in the use of the weapon,
and was impressed with the eight year old's patience and
persistance.
	It didn't take long for Hitomi to get involved in the
session, offering advice to Miyabi and correcting Masao's somewhat
wobbly stance.  She became so involved in the process that she
didn't notice Ranma and Joy reappear just inside the gates and
stand watching.
	"It's amazing how they accept her without any hesitation...
even Masao likes her, and he's not normally one to warm up to
strangers,"  Ranma observed, smiling.
	"Hai... you should have seen her with the kids at the
Centre.  She had them eating out of her hands,"  Joy quipped,
starting to walk toward the house.
	"Hai, I guess she would..." he agreed distantly, watching
the show.  "No... more *forward*!" he whispered, watching Masao
attempt an opening lunge.
	Joy snickered to herself.  "C'mon, Sensei... let them
play," she admonished, teasingly. 
	"Hm.  So, what happened to them?  The kids and the Centre,
I mean.  If they knew she wasn't coming back..." Ranma abruptly
asked, turning back towards Joy.
	"It's covered..." Joy responded, knowingly.  "And so is
Kikyo," she added, her face becoming slightly sombre.  Ranma,
noting her expression, opted not to explore the issue.
	"Okay... I'll take your word for it.  Let's get back in the
house... I want to fill Akane in."  he responded, gesturing for Joy
to follow.
	Just as he had taken about three steps, the gate bell
chimed insistantly, making everyone turn toward them.  "Ara..?"
Ranma remarked, stepping toward the doors to open them.
	Hitomi, like everyone else, had looked over toward the gates
at the sound of the bell, but as she did, she sensed something -
something ominously familiar.  As she watched Ranma start to open
the gate, it suddenly occurred to her where she had felt it before.
	"Package for Seirei Hitomi - sign here please."  the young
man standing behind the gate droned, shoving a box and clipboard
toward the surprised Ranma.
	"MAMUNO!!"  Hitomi screamed, leaping into the air and
firing a two-fisted blast at the stunned delivery man.  Ranma zapped
away just as the blast connected, sending the man across the yard
and slamming him up against the Dojo wall.
	Hitomi touched down in the middle of the walk and took a
stance, watching the heaped body carefully.  Just as Ranma was about
to ask her what the hell she was doing, the body shuddered and
twisted as mist began to pour out of every opening.
	Snarling, Hitomi lit up her hand and began to trace out a
familiar symbol.  "Get the kids out of here...!" she shouted, still
staring at the rapidly congealing mist.
	"Hai!"  Joy responded, running toward the startled children.
	"Hitomi!  NO!  You'll destroy half the ward!"  Ranma
suddenly shouted, noticing what she was setting up.
	"Kuso..!" the redhead spat, snatching the symbol from the
air.  Just as she did, the mist finished forming and the resulting
creature dove toward her, firing a shot from it's razor-like claws.
The attempt just missed her head as she dropped low, but it
continued past her and hit the ground very close to Miyabi.  The
concussion of the impact tossed the little girl like a doll,
sprawling her out on the ground several feet away.
	As Hitomi spun to face the creature, she saw Miyabi take the
hit, and felt something snap inside her.
	"NOOOO!!!" she screamed, leaping to her feet.  Glaring death
at the creature, she jammed the heels of her open hands together
and started to charge them up, just managing to get lined up as it
swung about for another attack.
	Leaning to the side to dodge another shot, she cut loose a
wide, slightly different type of beam that enveloped the entire
creature in a sphere and held it screaming in place.  Eyes flashing,
she started to close her hands, crushing the creature within the
now shrinking sphere.  The creature itself shrieked in agony as it
compacted into a non-descript mass, at which point Hitomi narrowed
her eyes and spoke in a chilling voice.
	"This... is for Kikyo... and Miyabi-chan!  Shimei!!"  she
snarled angrily, and snapped her hands shut.  The creature imploded
into a puff of mist and dissipated with the sphere, leaving no trace.
	Before the sphere completely faded, she leapt over to the
fallen Miyabi, scooping the unconscious child into her arms.  Her
face darkened even more as she detected the child's injuries, and
tears began to form in her hate-filled eyes.
	"Too many people have been hurt... This ends NOW!!" she
screamed angrily, and suddenly disappeared in a flash of blue light.
	Joy slumped to her knees, her face drained and bearing a
look of horror.  Ranma was equally as stunned.
	It wasn't until Akane burst through the door carrying her
barely-conscious daughter that either of them regained the power of
speech.
	"Ranma... what the hell happened?!?"  Akane almost
shreiked, her face a picture of panic.
	Ranma turned toward her and tried to speak, but Joy cut
him off.
	"Miyabi-chan got caught in the crossfire while Hitomi was
fighting another assassin demon.  She'll be okay... she was knocked
out by the blast, and probably twisted her shoulder," she began,
distantly.
	"So where's Hitomi...?" Ranma finally asked, despite
having a pretty good guess.
	Joy lowered her head.  "She's gone after them... by
herself." she responded, her tone ominous.
	"Then we'd better get after her...!  She doesn't..."  Ranma
blurted, but Joy silenced him with a sad shake of her head.
	"We can't, Ranma... Where she's gone, there's no way to
track her.  Neither our empathic or telepathic senses will work
unless we're right beside each other.  The 'atmosphere' there
absorbs those kind of energies," she stated, defeatedly.  "That's
why we were supposed to go in together."
	Akane swallowed hard, knowing that this wasn't the way
things were supposed to go.  "What... does that mean?"  she asked,
hugging Miyabi a bit closer to her.
	Joy raised her gaze to hers slowly, then drew a deep breath.
"Does the name 'Hiroshima' remind you of anything?" she remarked,
evenly.
	"Masaka... You mean..."  she gasped, stunned.
	"Hai," Joy nodded, sadly.  "And it's quite likely she won't
survive it."  she added, looking up at the frowning Ranma.



	Hitomi rematerialized in a dark, formless space, and quickly
scanned as far as she could for her target.  Just as she discovered
that her 'sense' wasn't working, sections of the misty atmosphere
started to shift and change all around her, rapidly forming more of
the demons she had encountered previously.
	Taking a stance, she charged her hands and waited, knowing
the demons had to be formed before she could affect them.  Within
moments, the 'air' around her was alive with bolts of energy and
angry roars as the creatures swarmed toward her.  All she did was
smirk, stand, and wait.
	As the creatures bore down on her, she became forced to
dodge the wildly flying bolts, zipping from side to side neatly
until one exceptionally lucky burst singed her whipping braid.
	"Now you've *really* made me mad!!" she snarled, and
clenched her fists tightly, increasing their azure glow to a
brilliant flare.  With a battle cry that bespoke her rage, she
snapped her arms straight above her head and set off a
thunderously powerful explosion, vaporizing every last one of
the creatures around her.
	As the echo of the blast faded off into the mists, Hitomi
looked around her for signs of any new adversaries, and seeing
none, decided it was time to stop playing around.  Noting that she
couldn't sense anything around her, she raised her hand open flat
in front of her.  Instantly, she called up a bar-shaped energy
charge and regarded it coldly.
	"Find them." she commanded, and as the bar swung around to
point off to her right slightly, she huffed and vanished from sight.



	Suddenly, Nabiki wasn't smiling any longer.  She had just
recieved word that the redhead had simply disappeared, and she had
no idea why.  The news of the battle had also suprised her, making
her wonder just what was really going on.  Not being one to be
satisfied with unknowns, she picked up her phone again.
	"Hi.  Yeah, I knew you would.  You can?  Good... and bring
your toys, too... I need some answers, and I need them yesterday.
Great.  See you then." she grinned, hanging the phone back up slowly.
	"Wife... I would speak with thee." a certain annoying voice
announced, followed by the opening of the outer doors of her office.
	"What?" she responded flatly, in no mood to deal with *him*.
	"Your activities of late smack of collusion...  Hast thou
not learned from the errors of old?"  Tatewaki intoned, showing
somewhat more awareness than usual.
	"You worry too much, Kuno-baby... I'm only trying to help my
dear sister Akane get her act together.  You don't mind that, do
you?"  she responded, leaning slightly on her sister's name.
	"In faith, I would give of mine own life to aid the fair
Akane... rather that than to dabble in the Black Arts."  he replied,
his normally vacant eyes regarding her evenly.  Nabiki was stunned.
	"Black Arts...?  Who said anything about the Black Arts?"
she recovered, trying to play it off coolly.
	"You have entertained that mage within our home... this
speaks dark intent.  I will no longer permit her presence." he
indicated, his eyes narrowing.  "And as my wife, you will respect
my wishes and cease involvement with any of her ilk." he followed,
raising his everpresent bokken and regarding it distantly.  "I
trust an accord had been struck?" he added, flashing her a look
that rattled her slightly.
	"Well, I think you're over reacting, but if it makes you
happy..." she acquiesced, rolling her eyes.
	"I am pleased." he responded, smiling.  "I shall be in the
study... do join me.  We have matters to discuss."  he indicated,
sheathing the bokken in his sash as he turned and walked out of the
room.  "Sasuke...! Tea... in the study!"  he shouted, striding into
the hallway without looking back.
	Nabiki puffed a huge sigh of relief and sank into her chair.
She had been, for the first time in her life, honestly scared of her
husband.  She shook her head slowly in disbelief, wondering what
had posessed him to actually threaten her.  Just as she completed
the thought, her eyes widened.
	"They know..." she breathed in horror, grabbing for her
phone.


	
	Hitomi had her hands full.  Immediately after reappearing,
she was set upon by more creatures and demons than she could count,
not only of the earlier type, but of all manner and description.
Leaping, doging and incinerating creature after creature, she began
to note that it wasn't buying her any time.  The horde kept coming,
and a few of them managed to actually land shots near her.  Becoming
even more angry, she unleashed a huge blast right through the middle
of them, succeding only in punching a rapidly refilling hole.
	Immediately, she lit her hand again and traced out the
Dragon's head, this time shaping it in a more oval pattern.
Setting her feet, she launched a searing, thundering blast that
vaporized the thickest horde, and went on to punch a hole in the
mist itself.
	She smiled as she noted that it took them a little longer
to recover.  Leaping into the air, she started firing slicing arcs
around her, trying to keep the pressure on in the hope of reducing
their numbers.  As she landed once more, she prepared to deliver
another dose of Dragon Fire, only to feel a hit in the middle of her
back.  It staggered her slightly, but only bought it's weilder a
trip to oblivion as she snarled and cooked it where it stood.
	Shaking off the impact, she grabbed her right wrist and
peppered the horde again machine-gun style, trying to build a buffer
around her.  It took her a few more blasts to realize that the
creatures et al were suddenly not coming at her any longer, but only
gathering around her and watching her angrily.  For all intents and
purposes, the attack had stopped.
	Before she could even start to wonder why, she felt the
atmosphere begin to sizzle with energy.  With a rumble that
threatened to deafen her, the ground around her abruptly began to
shake and crack, and before she could decide which if any way to
run, the entire area in front of her feet began to fall away,
opening up a hole that expanded away from her, the far edge
rapidly disappearing into the murk.
	The hole instantly filled with hundreds of the demons, who
had begun flying into it as soon as it opened.  Hitomi gasped as
she watched the horde begin to swirl together into a huge rotating
mass, which gradually spun apart into three smaller masses.   As
the masses congealed, she noticed that one was considerably larger
than the rest.
	Quickly glancing around, she noted to her dismay that there
was no perceptible change in the number of creatures remaining.  She
didn't have time to consider the ramifications however, as the
masses in front of her began to pulse and rumble, vibrating the very
atmosphere with their intensity.
	Before her widening eyes, the masses twitched and stretched
into massive, almost man-like demons, the largest of them moving to
the front.  As the foremost one solidified, it became so massive
that it obscured her view of the other two completely, and was wider
than her feild of vision.
	As Hitomi continued to gape at the sight, the largest
creature began to laugh, with a cocky, self-righteous, booming
laughter that filled the atmosphere.
	"You have done well to survive this long, Mortal... Your
power is impressive."  it stated, glaring down at her.  "You could
be useful to us..." it added, smugly.
	"Feh... the only thing I'll be to you is the last thing
you'll see!"  Hitomi snarled angrily, glaring back at the massive
figure.
	"Look around you, Mortal... no matter how many of us you
destroy, it will avail you nothing.  We are still more in number
and strength than you could possibly concieve," the dark,
onmipresent voice of the huge demon echoed arrogantly.  "You are
but one naive, misguided human... you have no chance against us.
Only the Fates themselves could weild enough power... and survive.
Your only salvation lies in joining with us... use your strength to
aid us in our conquest of the Triumvirate, and we will allow you to
rule alongside our might!"  it continued, glaring down at her with
it's flaring crimson eyes and an expectant smile.
	Hitomi glared back at the creature angrily, then looked
around at the murmering, growling horde of minion demons that seemed
to fill the entire space about her.  It was then that she slowly
realized the huge creature was right about at least one thing.
Until this particular moment, she had been pitifully naive.
Sighing, she dropped her shoulders and lowered her head, the
creature's words having triggered an understanding of the real
reason she existed.  Within her chest, her heart sank as she
realized what she had to do... and what it was going to cost her.
	The demon immediately noticed Hitomi's sudden change of
demeanor, and didn't waste any time trying to capitalize on it.
"Speak, human...  Will you become one with us, or do we simply kill
you?  The choice is yours..." it gloated, the delight in its
voice rankling Hitomi's nerves.
	Fighting back tears, Hitomi raised her gaze to the smugly
grinning demon and nodded slowly.  "Since you put it that way...
what choice do I have?"  she began, resignedly.  "It's obvious that
I have to join you... in a one-way trip to the Lost Realm!!" she
suddenly shouted, leaping at the creature and driving her glowing
fists into its abdomen, burying them to the elbow.  Before the
huge demon could react, Hitomi closed her eyes and increased the
power, gradually disappearing into a ball of increasingly brilliant
light.  Despite her almost single-minded rage, one thought fought
it's way into her mind.
	"Forgive me Kiko-chan... There's no other way..."  she
thought sadly, just as the creature tried to grab her and pull
her out of him.
	"No way you bastard... this ends now... and for good!!" she
screamed, closing her eyes and pulling out *all* the stops.
Instantly, the ball of light that was Hitomi grew an order of
magnitude brighter and overdoubled in size.  The trace energy
radiating from it began to incinerate the minions that were now
clawing over each other trying to escape, and gradually turned the
very mist itself into a pulsing veil of unstable energy.
	The huge creature began to scream in agony, the massive
buildup of energy within it starting to rip it apart from the inside
out.  Its huge form began to crack and split, shafts of light
bursting forth from each fissure and illuminating the mists like
miniature suns.
	Its screams suddenly stopped as its shattering form began
to crumble, releasing huge bursts of energy into the mists,
ultimately overloading their capacity to absorb it.
	The highly volatile mist finally reached saturation and
exploded, setting off a blast so horrifically powerful that it
could be felt across all three Realms, and set off a light show
rivalling that from the death of a sun.
	When it was all over, absolutely nothing tangible
remained... other than a chilling, eerie silence.
	Joy and Ranma both suddenly shuddered, then instantly
sought the other's eyes.  Joy rose wordlessly from her seat on
the floor and walked over to Ranma, grabbed him about the waist
and buried her face in his shirt.  A lump came to his own throat
as he felt her hot tears soak through the material and dampen his
skin.
	Just as Akane rose from her mat and started toward her
husband, the air in the middle of the room suddenly warped into a
spiral, then burst into a blue, shimmering ball.  The ball then
silently settled to the floor, pulsing brightly once before taking
the shape of a prone body.
	As the glow rapidly faded, Joy gasped out loud and zapped
over to the sorely abused form laying helpless and shaking on the
floor.
	"Hitomi-chan!  We thought... you were dead...!" she
blurted, clasping the redhead's hand in hers.
	"Dying... but... had to... come back... tell you to help
Kikyo.  Promise me..!"  she gasped, struggling to even focus her
tearing eyes.
	"I will, Hitomi-chan... I swear it." the Spirit-Child
choked, brushing the redhead's matted bangs way from her greyish
face.
	"Arigato..." Hitomi breathed, a faint smile crossing her
face as she squeezed Joy's hand weakly.  "Ranma... you here...?"
she abruptly asked, turning her head slightly to try locating him.
	"Hai... I'm here, Hitomi-chan." he responded softly,
kneeling close to her side.
	"Ranma... I... I ..." she struggled, her voice fading to a
dry whisper.
	"Nani...?" he asked, leaning a bit closer to hear her
better.
	"Thanks... for the... loan." she smiled weakly, then
grabbed his shirt and kissed him full on the lips.
	To everyone's shock, instead of the brilliant flash and
loud, booming crack that they expected, the two became bathed in
a soft, bluish-tinted light, then the light suddenly increased in
density until they could no longer be seen.  A moment later, the
light pulsed and disappeared, leaving only Ranma laying flat on
his back on the floor.  His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving,
which instantly sent Akane into a blind panic.
	"RANMA!!" she shrieked, diving toward him.
	"Matei!!"  Joy shouted, shaking off her own shock.
Wordlessly, she zapped up a bucket of cold water and dumped it on
the prostrate Ranma.
	Everyone's jaws but Joy's dropped in unison as onna-Ranma
shrieked and sputtered, then sat up and glared at her.
        "Whatja do *that* for?!?" she demanded, shaking the water
off of her hands.



	Joy stood back and watched the family laughing, joking and
celebrating Ranam's 'rebirth' as it were, and had to smile at
Akane's unwillingness to even let go of her husband.  Her heart
still ached heavily nonetheless, as Ranma's good fortune had come
at a high price.
	Hitomi had conserved the last remnants of her strength to
come back, specifically to give Ranma back his body.  Joy knew that
such an act was not part of the plan, and assumed that the Fates
must have decided to allow it to happen, given Hitomi's performance.
What bothered her most was that situation meant that Hitomi was
definitely gone, and Joy, for many reasons beyond simple friendship,
knew she would miss her terribly.
	Despite being happy for Ranma, Joy wished that there was a
way that Hitomi could have survived.  She was an incredible person,
the likes of which one considers themselves honored to have known.
She had touched the lives of many people in her short lifetime,
and most all were better for it.
	Sighing sadly, Joy also realized that her job was almost
done, now that the Spirit World was at peace and Ranma was once
again a normal human.  That meant she only had one duty left to
perform, and she wasn't looking forward to it.  It also meant that
the time had come for her to say her good byes, and leave Ranma's
family to the great life they had coming.
	Walking up to Ranma, she placed her small hand on his
shoulder and looked at him with a sad smile.  "Congratulations,
Ranma... " she said quietly, a slight sniff escaping her guard.
"My job is done... It's time for me to leave.  Kikyo needs me...
and you need to be with your family."  she stated, her voice
wavering slightly.
	Ranma, upon seeing the sadness in the Spirit-Child's
eyes, immediately felt for her.
        "Arigato, Joy-sama." he began softly, rising to his feet.
"I miss her too... and I always will," he indicated, earnestly.
"Like I told her a while ago... she was the only incarnation of my
female side that I actually liked,"  he added, a touch of sadness
in his voice.  As he finished the sentence, he looked down at his
body and sighed, then flexed his fingers and arms.  "I still can't
believe that she did this... but she was kinda known for surprises,
wasn't she?" he smiled, gently.
	"Hai... it even surprised me... but I think she felt
guilty, especially after meeting your family.  You know how much
that meant to her."
	Ranma looked down for a moment, then glanced at Akane and
his children.  "Yeah... I do."  he nodded, his voice quiet.  After
a moment ofthoughtful silence, he looked back at her with concern
on his face.  "There is one thing I'm curious about though... what
really happened to Shampoo?  I can't see her just going back to
China..."
        "She did... after a certain subtle 'suggestion'.  She took
things pretty hard, and I think plans to start a new life, as far
away from her old one as possible.  Believe it or not, it's the
best thing for her,"  Joy noted, thoughtfully.  "I wish her luck."
        "So do I,"  Ranma agreed, quietly.
	"I better go... I have to check on Kikyo, and if she's
recovered..." Joy began, but her voice trailed off.
	"I don't envy you that job.  She's not going to take this
well."
        "Hai... She won't,"  Joy agreed, sighing resignedly.
Flashing a weak, sad smile once more, Joy stepped back a few paces
and bowed respectfully.  "Sayonara, Saotome Ranma... it's been an
honour to have known you.  Live a strong life." she bowed again,
then looked back at him with shimmering eyes.
        Ranma, upon flashing a glance at Akane, turned and faced
the Spirit-Child, then himself bowed deeply.
        "It has been an honor to know you as well, Joy-sama."  he
responded genuinely, and before she could react, he picked her up
and hugged her tightly.  A bit suprised, Joy gasped quietly, then
returned the hug affectionately.  Sniffing back her tears, she
whispered in his ear quietly.
        "I'm going to miss both of you... " she breathed, then
floated back, looked at him sadly and slowly faded from sight.
	Akane, having remained silent thus far, stepped up and
wrapped another tight hug around her husband.  Looking up into his
eyes, she asked the question for which she most feared the answer.
	"Is that it?  Is it... really over?" she breathed, her
eyes widening hopefully.
	Ranma could only look back into her eyes and smile, his
look confident but sad. "Hai, Akane-chan.  It's over." he
acknowledged, firmly.


 
	Okimayaki Kikyo looked over the cans of vegetables before
her intently, pausing only to smile at her daughter as she played
happily in her stroller.  Every so often, she would also have to
acknowledge compliments from other people in the aisles, as to a
person they would all smile and wave at the bubbly little girl.
        She still marvelled at the little one's ability to charm
even the grumpiest of people, and how she was always exuberant and
happy.  She knew it was the legacy of her father, who Kikyo
remembered fondly as the most wonderful woman she had ever known.
She only wished she had lived long enough to see her daughter born,
and be able to love the child as she knew the woman would have.
        It had been almost four months since Kikyo had been
revived, only to be told the painful story of her lover's
sacrifice.  The passage of time had not diminshed the wrenching
pain in her heart, nor the empty feeling in her soul however,
leaving her still feeling as torn as if it had happened only
yesterday.
        In fact, had it not been for her daughter, and the child's
incredible resemblance to her father, Kikyo knew she wouldn't
have been able to go on alone.
	"C'mon, Hitomi-chan... we have to get home and make supper.
Okaasan has a garden to finish," she smiled sadly, recalling how
proud her girlfriend had been of that particular project.  She knew
her own work on it wasn't as meticulous as her girlfriend's had
been, but something within her still compelled her to finish it.
        After arriving back home and finishing supper, she took
Hitomi-ko and went out to the nearly completed garden, where for
some reason she simply stood holding her daughter and looking
over the grounds.  The garden itself was nearly finished, with only
some minor touches remaining.  Her heart twinged as she dearly
wished her girlfriend could have seen it.
        As she was about to pick up the pouch of tools and start
edging the walk, she happened to glance toward the bridge in the
center of the garden, and was startled to see someone standing in
the middle of it.
        It was a woman, with lustrous, deep auburn hair tossing
like a wave in the gentle breeze.  She stood about five-foot four,
sported a long, pretty, pale green sundress, and as far as Kikyo
could see, had an excellent body.
        Face darkening, Kikyo set her daughter down in her playpen
and walked toward the woman, miffed that someone would have the
nerve to tresspass on her property, especially in the garden.  As
she approached the woman, she was suprised to see her break out
in a wide and unsettlingly familiar smile.
        As Kikyo stepped onto the bridge, the auburn haired
woman turned to her and bowed deeply, and as she rose, her large
sea-green eyes locked into Kikyo's and began to shimmer.
        "Kiko-chan..." the woman suddenly breathed, clasping her
hands together in front of her and biting her lip.
        Kikyo stopped in her tracks.  Gaping at the woman, she
had to blink and take a second look to make sure she wasn't seeing
things.  Even with the different frame, hair and eyes, Kikyo 
suddenly knew exactly who the stranger was.
	"Hitomi...?" she gasped, her heart racing.
	"No... not any more.  My name... is Miyuki." the woman
almost whispered, regarding Kikyo hopefully.
	Kikyo didn't care.  Bursting out in tears, she leapt toward
Miyuki and wrapped her in a huge hug, at which Miyuki herself broke
out in tears.  As the two of them wept openly, Miyuki found enough
composure to whisper into Kikyo's ear.
	"I'm back, Kiko-chan... and I'll never leave you again.
Ever." she sniffed, hugging Kikyo even tighter.



================================================================
END - The Death of a Dream            A Ranma1/2 FanFic By Coutuva

Comments Welcomed - Flames Extinguished!
coutuva@vecdev.com



&&&&



And there you have it... the end of a saga. (snif)  This story
didn't quite go as I originally envisioned it, but I certainly
did enjoy the experience.  It proved to be quite an emotional
roller coaster for me, especially this segment.  My thanks to
all who responded along the way, for it was for them that I
tried my best.  I'm not done writing by any means, and I hope
that those who supported and critiqued my work will continue to
do so, since a writer is nothing without an audience.

Arigato gozaimashite, minna!
Coutuva.

_____________________________________________________________
Catch all my 'Fics and more at my little house on the Bay!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/9295/
coutuva@vecdev.com, coutuva@hotmail.com, coutuva@geocities.com 

"No, we don't broadcast animation live any more... it
puts too much of a strain on the Artist's wrists."