Akane held Kasumi's hand as they walked in with Ranma following through 
the doors of the hospital main entrance. She carried wrapped flowers in 
her other hand. Kasumi's eyes had taken on a distant look as they neared 
the building.
"Don't worry older sister, he'll be fine. When we called they said that 
he was stable."
The elder girl recovered and looked at her sister.
"Yes, he will be fine."
Akane stared at Kasumi for a moment and then walked up to the desk. 
"Um, � excuse me, we're here to see a patient, Ono Tofu. He was brought 
here this morning. When I called I was told that he was just going to be 
moved out of intensive care."
"Just one second," the receptionist typed the name into her computer, 
"He's on the fourth floor in room number two."
Akane bowed and thanked the woman and the three walked towards the 
elevators.
*****
He had attempted the ritual with the help of a local high school 
student. Hikaru Gosunkugi was an extremely inquisitive boy who felt 
strongly drawn to the arts of magic. 
The boy had come to him under the most unusual circumstances. He had 
shown up at Tofu's clinic one evening with a glassy look in his eyes and 
a book under his arm. The book was the same that Tofu had had 
mysteriously stolen from his home days before. Gosunkugi had no 
knowledge of how he had found the book and he later seemed unsure about 
his reasons for finding the doctor.
Despite the fact that he resembled nothing more than a man-shaped dead 
fish, Tofu could sense power in the boy. The doctor took him on as an 
assistant to aid in his research into magic.
"You really should have prepared a little better before trying that 
ritual out. The book said it was dangerous, but no�"
What kind of painkillers am I on? Tofu wondered. It would have required 
major head trauma to cause this hallucination otherwise.
"Are you listening?" The face in the mirror, the face that was not quite 
his own, took on an exasperated look. "Hey, this is important! I'm 
trying to talk to you from partway beyond the grave and you're not 
paying attention."
Realistic hallucination, my own image is speaking to me with Gosunkugi's 
voice. Definitely drugs. What kind of drugs could it be?
"You do realize that you are thinking loud enough for me to hear, don't 
you?"
The doctor resolutely ignored him.
"Oh, yeah, I can see that getting you to listen is going to be fun."
*****
The clean white halls sent chills up Ranma's spine. He was often mildly 
injured, but hospitals were foreign to him. The absolute sterility was 
unnerving enough, but the almost palpable sensation of weakness was far 
worse. The pervasive aura of infirmity seemed to sap at his very soul.
The pale, lifeless walls stretched on and on. Electric lighting left no 
shadows. The lights were too bright, but gave no heat. Ranma felt cold. 
His body felt heavy. His heart was pumping a liquid far colder than 
blood throughout his body. 
The invisible ground invited him to rest.
"Ranma? Are you alright? Ranma!"
Akane caught Ranma as he lost his balance.
"Ranma, what's wrong?"
"Just dizzy. Back off, I'm okay. I don't need some tomboy carrying me 
around like I can't walk."
Akane's facial expression chilled.
 "Well, if you don't want my help, I won't waste my time."
"Good, I�" Ranma stumbled and caught himself on the wall.
Concern found its way back into Akane 's face.
"Ranma, you're not well. Let me help you, please.
Ranma offered no response, but did not resist as Akane put her arm 
around his shoulders to support him. On touching his skin, she found 
that it felt like ice.
Kasumi watched silently.
*****
"Look, I know that most people don't talk much when they're dead, but 
I'm not really dead, at least not in the normal way. Well, actually I 
am, but most people don't get stuck in Limbo when that happens."
"You're in Limbo?"
"You are paying attention! I thought that you didn't believe I was 
real."
"I still don't, but I'm getting bored of listening to you talk, and I 
figure that if I listen for a bit, you'll go away."
The reflection scowled.
"Allow me to explain the entire situation clearly. You attempt to learn 
the secrets of a long dead wizard. To do this, you try to reach him in 
the afterlife through one of his own little tricks. I help you in your 
little ritual. You never let me look at the book, which was probably for 
the better, and you never tell me that I have to read in Latin, which 
was not. I am unprepared and you are not performing the ritual properly. 
Everything becomes one giant magic blazing hellfart. Are you following 
this?"
"Why did the explosion get you and not me? I was closer to the brazier 
and the crystal."
"You were ground zero. It erupted outward from around you. Don't ask me 
why, magic likes to be silly. Anyway, through your recklessness, I get 
atomized. To add insult to incineration, the spell actually takes effect 
and I get stuck here. Just in case you were wondering, I do not like 
this place all that much."
"What is Limbo like?"
"Imagine being a spectator at one big never ending golf game played by 
ninety year olds. In the Sahara Desert�"
"I see."
"Anyway, what I want to tell you is that you made contact."
"What do you mean?"
"The big ancient sorcerer guy. He knows you're looking for him.
*****
	"Kasumi, something's wrong with Ranma. You go on ahead to Dr. Tofu. 
I'll find someplace for him to rest and then I'll meet up with you at 
Dr. tofu's room. Take the flowers with you."
Akane attempted to speak matter-of-factly, since Ranma was probably just 
winded (Ranma tired?) or coming down with something (Ranma sick?). A 
slight quaver in her voice, however, betrayed the anxiety that tore at 
her heart. Something was wrong, but she could not ease the feeling that 
it was far worse than a mere flu.
Kasumi cast a worried eye on Ranma before nodding to her sister, picking 
up the flowers that she had dropped, and walking down the hall. Akane 
spied a bench and eased her fiancee down onto it.
"Just� let� me catch my� breath. I'll be� fine."
"You stubborn idiot, you are not fine. Wait here while I go get you a 
nurse."
Ranma lifted his gaze to her eyes as she turned away from him. He caught 
Akane's sleeve. 
"A-Akane," he hesitated for a moment, "don't leave me."


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