Here's part one.  C&C Welcome.

Akane couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.  It was like she
was empty, like something was missing, or different.  The feeling
started the night she had the dream about Ranma dying.  That was the
same night it took Kasumi an hour and a half to calm her down, after she
had woken up screaming and crying.  She didn't want to admit it to
herself, or anyone else for that matter, but she missed him in the time
he had been gone.  She had been furious at him for leaving without
telling he-...them but she realized that if he had, Shampoo and Ukyou
would have found out and tried to go and that would have been a
disaster.  In this case secrecy was the best policy.

	Her heart jumped when she answered the phone and heard his familiar
voice on the line.

	"Hey Akane." He started, hesitantly.

	"Ranma, where are you?" She replied, her voice nearly betraying her
feelings.  "You've missed a lot of school you know."

	"I'm in China," he told her, his voice quiet.  "I went back to the
training grounds."

	"And?"  She asked hopefully

	"I failed."  The depression in his voice was so evident that it seemed
palpable.

	"Oh, Ranma, I'm sorry."

	"There's nothing to be sorry about."  He told her.

	"Well, I know what a cure means to you.  I know how much you hate your
curse."  

	"I think it's time I realized there may not be a cure for me.  I've
tried so many, and they've all failed, it's time I got on with my life
Akane."

	"But..."

	"Listen, I really don't feel up to your pity right now.  I'm not in the
mood.  I'll talk to you when I get back"  he finished as the phone was
disconnected.

	"Ranma?"  She asked  "Are you still there?  You JERK!"  She slammed the
phone back onto its carriage, then ran up the stairs. 

	Kasumi found her in her room a while later, crying again.  This time it
just took a little consoling to calm the girl down.  She cried into her
older sister's shoulder while babbling on about how much she had missed
him and how he was such a jerk.  Unflappable Kasumi took it all in
stride.

	"Akane, you're angry at him one moment and crying because you missed
him the next."  she said while getting up from the bed.  "I know how
upset he makes you sometimes, but don't you think it's time you tried to
make this relationship work?"  She finished as she left the room,
leaving the youngest Tendou to think.

===============================================

	The days passed as they normally do in Nerima, Akane running the
gauntlet of boys at school who thought Ranma had left.  Kunou spouted
his awful poetry until being launched into LEO from a well placed kick,
Nabiki blackmailing half the school while selling Ukyou, Shampoo, and
Kodachi incorrect information on Ranma's location.   Ryouga stayed lost,
Genma ate, Soun cried, a lot.  It was almost normal.  With one
exception, the cog which normally held this circle of distracting events
together was gone, and the other gears were growing restless.  Finally
the day Ranma was supposed to come home arrived, and the confusion was
set to rise a notch..

===============================================

	Akane was doing her homework. Well... attempting to, at least.  Her
concentration was shot as thoughts of a certain pig tailed martial
artist ran through her heard  "Why didn't you tell me, you jerk" she
sighed.  "I could have gone with you, could have helped you."  It was
then that she once again realized how much of a stumbling block his
curse was to their relationship, not to mention his own life.  She knew
that almost all of the problems in his life stemmed from the curse. 
Shampoo coming to Japan, along with Mousse and Cologne, had nearly cost
him his manhood.  Kunou's obsession with his "pigtailed goddess" had
ruined many a day for him.  Kodachi had tried to kidnap him dozens of
times.  The humiliations of his first real kiss coming from Mikado
Sanzenin.  The groupings from Happosai... the list went on and on.  The
same things that often caused Akane to blow up and attack him, 

	"Funny,"  She though.  "I can hit him with my mallet every time, but
Shampoo's bonbori are almost the same and he always is able to get out
of the way from those.  I wonder..."   But her train of thought was not
to be to be completed as she was broken from her reverie by an
annoyingly familiar voice speaking in broken Japanese.

	"Nihao! Ranma come back to take Shampoo on date?"  Shampoo squealed

	"No, Shampoo, get off.  I just want to go home."  Ranma's voice
protested as always.

	"SAOTOME!  How dare you seduce my beloved like that!" Mousse demanded a
second later.

	"It's not what you think Mousse."  Ranma's reply shot back.

	"Go away stupid Mousse!  Airen taking Shampoo on date"

	"No, I'm not!  Get off Shampoo!"

	Akane had heard enough!  That unfaithful jerk was letting Shampoo hang
all over him again.  Pulling her mallet out she jumped out the window
and ran into the road.  Seeing her fianc� fending off Mousse with a
certain purple locked amazon clinging onto his leg infuriated her. 

	"RANMA!!"  She bellowed

	The person in question looked at her with hope in his eyes, hope that
was quickly replaced with fear as her infamous mallet came crashing down
on his head.  Mousse, mistaking a passing car for Ranma, ran off in the
general direction of the Nekohanten shouting for him to come back and
accept his punishment.. 

	"Shampoo, you hussy!  Can't you leave him alone?"  The short haired
tower of terror asked.  "And Ranma, at least you can do is try to get
her off of you."

	"Why violent girl attack husband?"  Shampoo responded.

	"I'm not your husband!" a weak voice rose off the ground.

	"SHUT UP RANMA!" the girls bellowed, punctuated by a tag team tossing
of Ranma into the Koi pond.  A wet and depressed Ranma-Chan pulled
herself out of the pond and entered the house. 

	"Oh, hello Ranma."  Kasumi greeted him.  "How was your trip?"

	"Fine."  She mumbled.  "Where's Pop and Mr. Tendou?" 

	"Father and Uncle Saotome went to a bar.  They should be gone for
several hours."

	"Thanks.  Oh, a friend of mine may be coming by in a few days to talk
to Pop.  I wanted to tell you now so if he came while I wasn't home and
it wouldn't be too much of a surprise."

	"All right, are you feeling okay Ranma?"  She asked, worried about the
pain evident in his eyes.

	"Yeah, just a little tired.  I think I'll go lie down." 

	"Okay, would you like me to fix some tea for you?"  The eldest sister
offered.

	"Nah, I'll be fine."

	Ranma climbed the stairs to her bedroom, rubbing her head and
grumbling.  "Uncute tomboy, why'd she hit me so hard."

	"Because she was jealous." a small voice in his head replied.

	"Yeah, right.  Like I'd actually do anything with Shampoo."

	"She doesn't realize that.  All she can see is Shampoo hanging on you. 
A mixture of love and unholy rage can blind a person to the truth."  The
voice replied with a bit of humor in its voice.

	"Unholy rage I can understand, but she doesn't love me.  She's said it
so much even I believe her."  His voice dropped while saying this.

	"But do you love her?"  

	"What did you mean by that?"  But the voice was silent.

	"AAHH!  God damn!  I hate that!"  She yelled as she entered the guest
room and dropped her bag.  Looking at the futon she realized she was too
tense to sleep.  "I'm too wound up to take a nap now.  Maybe a little
bit of a workout will help."  She told herself as she left for the
bathroom for some hot water.

===============================================

	Akane's impromptu match had ended when Shampoo realized Ranma had
left.  She turned and began to walk back to the Nekohanten, looking back
over her shoulder and glaring at her rival once or twice.

	"Shampoo come back to finish off violent girl and save husband later." 
She yelled when she was almost out of sight.  Akane toyed with the idea
of chasing after her but shoved it out of her mind when she remembered
why they were fighting, Ranma was back.  Turning back to the house, she
shut the gates once inside.  Almost to the house she heard the music. It
was too fast and hard to be anything her sisters listen to.  She was out
here so that it eliminated herself.  

	"It's got to be Ranma, Dad doesn't have any students right now."  She
realized.  "Maybe I should go talk to him.  He looked kinda depressed
before I hammered him."  She was almost at the doors before she could
make out any lyrics.

 "< 	The man of a thousand retirements
	Will always be the one who tells you when to quit
	I won't take stock in a withered man
	I'm reaching into you, I'll make you understand.>"(1)
	
	She entered to see Ranma doing what seeming to be a new kata, it was
fast and aggressive with some new moves.  Dropping her mallet into her
pocket dimension she sat and watched.  The kata seemed a little weird,
something about it seemed dreadfully wrong.  She had been watching for a
good five minutes when she realized that his form were sloppy.  It was
like he had not practiced the art in years, he seemed to be having
problems with attacks she knew he had mastered years before arriving at
the dojo.  While doing a Dragon tail Ranma had nearly lost his balance
and had to struggle to keep from falling down.  Akane was shocked, she
had seen him perform that move a hundred times and he never even shifted
his position on the way back up.  Another realization hit her suddenly,
he hadn't noticed her yet.  She had never been able to sneak up on him,
and now he had been working on his new kata for a good ten minutes
without even a word.  He normally talked to her even in the middle of
the form, and he always acknowledged her presence as soon as she got
within five feet.  Then, while trying to link an elbow thrust with a
side kick, it happened.  The kick started off correct, his left foot
sliding as his right leg extended and his upper body angled down. 
However, he overextended his leg during the thrust, and it threw his
body off balance.  The next thing Akane knew  Ranma's head was impacting
with the dojo floor and his eyes closed as he lost conscious thought.

	"RANMA!"  Akane screamed.

===============================================

	Ranma didn't see Akane entering the dojo, since he was too far into his
kata to notice her presence.  He was frustrated, ever since his accident
he had been sloppy in his forms.   He had improved with practice, but in
his currant state his rivals would have no problem beating the tar out
of him.  He had been spotted by Ryouga outside of town and the only
thing that had saved him was the timely intervention of a water balloon
that had been tossed from a nearby lot, turning both of them into their
cursed forms.  With the change in perspective the lost boy.. pig had
done his thing quite quickly.  Then Kunou glommed onto him outside a
public bathroom as he was trying to get hot water, spouting poetry and
promises of pain and torture to the "Vile Saotome".  If not for the fact
it was Kunou who he was attacking, Ranma might have had a problem
getting off without injury.  And topping off his day, Shampoo tackled
him in front of the dojo, Mousse attacked him, and Akane did her version
of Hammer Time.  Working on his new kata had allowed him to calm down,
but his senses were off, he seemed unable to sense the presence of
others, normally the only people who could do that were Doc Tofu and the
old ghoul.  He shrugged it off as an after effect of stress and
tension.  His lack of skill became evident when he came close to losing
his balance during a Dragon tail.  

	"Maybe you should stop before you hurt yourself Ranma."  The voice
wondered.

	"No!"  Ranma's thought snapped back.  "If I don't get back up to speed
there's no way I can protect myself, let alone Akane.  I've got to
practice."

	"Well, at least could you at least keep both feet on the ground?  That
way you won't hurt yourself if you mess it up."

	"All right."  he conceded.  "One more kick, and then I'll stick to the
ground maneuvers."

	But it was too late, after performing an elbow thrust he attempted to
link it with a quick side kick.  Like anyone who was experienced in an
art, he knew he had made an error as soon as he started.  He
overextended his leg in the upthrust.  An attempt to compensate by
stopping his forward momentum failed.  He fell backwards, his head
striking the floor of the dojo.  The last thing he saw before the
darkness enveloped him was the shocked face of Akane, sitting on the
floor by the entrance.

	"Oh no."  The voice sighed.    "Now she's gonna know something's
wrong."  Then... nothing.

===============================================

	Pain flared and consciousness was lost.  Past events were replayed as
though he was outside of the event.  His entire life was shown to him
from the outside, and he regretted much of what he had done.  A sudden
flash of light and he was standing in a field that stretched as far as
the eye could see.
	
	"where am I?"  He asked, amazed at how weak his voice was.  

 	"You are in what some call Purgatory."  A voice rang out from the
void.

	"Why?"  He asked, regaining strength in his voice.

	"Because you have to be processed before you may proceed to the next
level.  And I don't have much time, we have a special person coming up."

	"Who?"
	
	"Were getting a Televangelist."

	"What's so big about that?"
	
	"We've never had one before...."  The voice trailed off as another
interrupted it
	
	"Wake up!  She's getting worried man.  I know you can hear me....."

	"Ah, I see now.  You are here in a dream.  Sadly someone else needs you
now or we would talk more.  If I see you again we will talk more."  The
first voice interjected.  "But forget this place.  You will remember
this only when needed.  Goodbye traveler.  It's time for you to wake."

===============================================

	As the darkness faded, a dull, throbbing pain slowly emerged as he
regained thought.  A pounding in his skull reminded him of how he was
knocked out.  

	"....hear me.  RANMA!  Wake up!  Wake up you SMEGHEAD!"  The voice in
his head screamed.

	"Ranma, please wake up."  Akane's voice pleaded at the same time. 
"Please wake up."

	"akane?"  Ranma asked, his voice weak.  "What happened?  Did Ryouga
finally get lucky and beat me?"  He was still disoriented, so he didn't
notice that he was being cradled in Akane's arms and she was rocking him
back and forth asking him to wake up.  He sat up, rubbing his head.  Not
noticing Akane wiping the tears out of her eyes.  

	"No, you fell and hit your head..

	"Oh."  He exclaimed, getting up and heading towards his belongings.

	"But your head's so thick only a fall off Tokyo tower would faze you." 
She joked, a smirk on her face.  She hoped he would laugh with her at
the joke and ease the tension a bit

	"Look, Akane.  If all you're gonna do is insult me then I'm gonna
leave."  he snapped at her, taking the joke the wrong way.

	Akane growled, a blue tint appearing in the air around her, but Ranma
was gathering his things so didn't see her anger.  "RANMA!"  she yelled.

	"What?"  he sighed, turning around.  A look of sadness and loss in his
eyes dispelling her anger. 

	"Are you okay?"  She asked, his look making her feel guilty for yelling
at him.

	"Yeah, I just don't feel like fighting today, that's all."  he
started.  "I had a hard time getting back into town.  Ryouga jumped me, 
Kunou stopped me when I was trying to get some hot water, and then there
was that thing with Shampoo and Mousse."

	"I'm sorry."  She apologized, looking sheepish.  "Um, uh, so what was
that music you were listening too?"  She asked, trying to relive the
increasing tension in the air.

	"Oh, just a tape I found on the trip.  Got a bunch of different bands
on it, mostly English speaking."  He responded, looking away from her

	"I thought your English wasn't too good?"

	"Yeah, I just listen to the music.  I ignore the vocals."  

	"Why did you lose your balance?"  She asked, finally being able to get
the question out.

	"I don't know,"  He lied, not wanting her to know the truth just yet. 
"I haven't been feeling too well the past few days, it could be the flu
or something."

	"Maybe you should go see Doctor Tofu.  If you're sick you should be
checked out."  Akane offered, her concern hidden behind a neutral tone.

	"Maybe you're right."  He muttered.

	"You know she's right.  Maybe Tofu can give you something to help you
with your coordination?"

	"Maybe, NO!"  He thought back.  "No one needs to know.  I can handle
this on my own.  What if Kunou or Ryouga found out I was weak?  They'd
never let me have any peace."

	"Ranma?"  Akane asked, noticing his distance from the conversation. 
"Are you all right?"

	"Yeah, I'm just tired.  I've been gone for a while Akane, I think I'm
gonna go for a walk for a bit.  Okay?"

	"Okay,"  She replied.  "But I want to talk to you later."

	"All right."  He finished, heading out of the dojo and leaving Akane in
the middle of the dojo.  

	"What happened to you Ranma?  You seem so different."  Akane whispered,
not meaning for him to hear.

	"I don't know,"  He whispered back.  "I really don't know"

===============================================

	Ranma paused by the back gate of the yard and leaned on the wall, his
head resting on his crossed arms.  He regretted leaving like that. That
was the first time he had really seen her in over a month, even though
she was in her dreams almost every night.  "Why does this have to be so
hard?"  he asked no one in particular, slamming his head against the
dojo wall.

	"You know why, and you could fix it very easily."

	"Yeah, but SHE always hits me whenever I do anything to get close to
her.  She thinks I'm trying to trick her or something.  It's so damn
hard!"

	"But haven't you done some things that you deserve to be hit for?"  The
voice questioned.  "Like when you introduced Ukyou to her as your 'Cute
Fianc�e'?"

	"Yeah, but I can't do it anymore.  I sick of the fighting, the
pain, the lies, I'm sick of everything.  Why did it take my own death to
make me realize what pain I was causing her?"  He wondered, pulling his
shirt aside and glancing at the faint scar over his heart.

	"Because in the finale moments before death some people gain a clarity
of vision that they lack in their lives.  They view the events of their
existence from outside of the physical form and...."

	"PLEASE!  You're giving me a headache!"  He complained, rubbing his
temples.  "This metaphysical bullshit is way over my head.  I still
can't see why I can't tell anyone what happened?"

	"How would someone react to you telling them you were shot and brought
back to life?  You'd be pawed over like you were a new species of life."

	"Yeah, and the people who didn't want to dissect me would do nothing
but pity me.  I can't stand pity!!"  He began to slam his head against
the wall, in the vain hope that if he lost consciousness his problems
would be solved.  As he wandered out the gate, he stopped and looked
around the yard, as if taking in the view for the last time before
heading down the road.  With his senses dulled, he didn't even notice
the person who trailed him along his journey.

===============================================

	Ranma's path was erratic, he followed no specific path with the
exception of skipping by the Nekohanten and the street where the Kunous
lived.  When his rambling brought him to the school, he entered the
yard.  As it was late afternoon, the yard was empty.  "Huh, I guess no
one stays here much later than I do.  Maybe I should start to pay some
more attention in classes?"  He mumbled, not really asking a question.
	
	"It would help.  Perhaps asking Akane for help would be nice?"
	
	"Yeah, maybe it would" He replied with a slight smile on his face. 
Seeing Ms. Hinako coming out of the main gate, Ranma decided it was time
to leave hoping she didn't see him.  However, his wish was not to be
granted.  
	
	"Saotome?  You delinquent, where have you been for all that time?"  She
asked, her question unheard by the subject in question.  "Answer ME! 
Oh, I hate when people ignore me.  Maybe I should do a home visit.  At
least that way he can't ignore me."  She sighed, looking skyward for a
few seconds before reverting to her child form and skipping towards her
apartment.

===============================================

	Ranma walked the streets of Nerima, stopping every once and a while to
examine a specific building or landmark.  He finally stopped in front of
Ukyou's shop. 

	"And here's The Ucchan."  He sighed. 

	"Well now, shall we get some lunch?"  The voice asked
apprehensively.

	"Sure,"  he responded nervously as he entered the shop, "Why don't we."
Suddenly Ranma was nearly brought to the floor by a speeding projectile.

	"RANCHAN!"  Ukyou squealed "Where have you been?"

	"Uh, I, Uh, Ucchan, I can't breath!"  The boy wheezed

	"Affectionate isn't she?"

	"Sorry," she apologized as she released the glomp.  "I got carried
away.  You've been gone for over a month.  I was worried about you.  So,
um, you want some lunch?"

	"Yeah, sure."  Ranma replied as he sat at the counter. 

	Many of the male customers looked at Ranma with thinly veiled anger as
they noticed Ukyou's reaction to him.  The stares he received made him
very nervous for some reason. 

	"What you want Ranchan?"  Ukyou asked.

	"Gimme a Pork Okonomiyaki."  He replied.

	"Sure sugar.  So, where've been?"

	"I went back to the cursed springs.  Hoped the guide may have had news
about a cure.  He told me there wasn't any cures available for the
spring of drowned girl right now."

	"I'm sorry, it's okay though.  You don't need a cure."

	"Yeah, I don't need a cure.  I want a cure!"  He came extremely close
to yelling.  He began again with a lower volume.  "You don't realize how
much of a living hell my life has become since I got cursed.  All the
pain of having people like Kunou and Happosai try to glomp me.  But it's
time I started to think about the fact that there may not be a cure. 
Maybe I've been cursed for a reason, and until I've finished it I can't
be cured.  It'd explain all the times they failed."  He got up, and
started towards the door.  

	"What about your lunch?"  Ukyou asked, shocked at Ranma passing up
food.

	"I'm not hungry anymore.  I've got some things I've got to take care
of."  He responded, continuing his walk.

	"Okay Ranchan, if you come back tomorrow we can talk."

	"I'll see you later."  He told her as he got to the door.  He slowly
left the shop, looking back as he exited. 

	Ranma felt someone following him as he left Ucchan's. 
He decided to wander for a bit, so he could throw off whoever was
following him.  He walked for hours, not really stopping anywhere.  When
he found himself near the dojo, he decided to lose his pursuer.  Darting
into an alley, he stopped and pulled something out of his pocket. 
Suddenly there was a faint shimmering, like a wave of heat in front of
him.

===============================================

	Ukyou hadn't seen him that depressed since the time his father let him
think the circus lady was his mother.  He had locked himself in his room
for hours, and when he finally came out his eyes were red and puffy.  He
pulled his father into the dojo and gave him a beating that kept him
from sparring for a week.  She decided to visit him after closing to see
what the matter was.  "Heh, most likely Akane bashed him again for no
good reason."  she thought,  "She doesn't deserve him.  Oh, when will
Ranchan realize I'm the best choice for him...."  She trailed off, not
noticing the figure following Ranma.(2)

===============================================

	Akane followed Ranma from the Dojo around Nerima.  He wasn't acting
like himself and she felt it was best to watch him for the afternoon. 
She stayed a half block behind, occasionally stopping behind a fence or
a lamp post as he stopped and looked around.  She suppressed a need to
mallet him when he entered Ukyou's shop, reminding herself that
something was wrong with him.  She returned to her trailing of him as he
left the shop, growing frustrated as he wandered almost aimlessly around
the district before heading back towards the dojo.  She was surprised
when he ran into the blind alley.  She stood, watching the alley for a
minute. When he didn't come back out, she ran in herself.  She entered
and found, nothing.  The alley was empty, no Ranma, no exit.  She took a
quick look up towards the sky, and found nothing.  It was as if he had
vanished into thin air.  "Where did he go?"  She asked no one in
particular.

===============================================

	"I'm home!"  Akane called as she entered the house.  While taking off
her shoes she noticed a pair she had never seen before.  "We must have a
guest.  I wonder who it is."  Entering the living room, she saw a young
man sitting at the table. 

	"Ah, welcome home Akane."  Kasumi greeted as she left the kitchen with
a tray of snacks and tea.  "This is a friend of Ranma's."

	"Ah, Akane.  Ranma's told me a lot about you."  He grinned.  My names
Gary."  Akane looked the young man over, he seemed to be a bit older
than Ranma and a bit taller, slim with short blond hair and flint gray
eyes.  He was dressed quite casually, jeans and a black T-shirt.  He
didn't seem like the type of person who Ranma normally hung out with. 
He didn't stand like a martial artist, and he seemed to radiate
calmness.  Anyone who knew Ranma as a friend didn't feel very calm.  She
came to the conclusion he was a fraud.

	"Nice to meet you Gary."  Akane greeted him, hiding her suspicion. 
"So, where do you know Ranma from?"

End part one