All Ranma characters and suchnot, are copyright by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz,
and whomever else owns a piece of the wonderful world of Ranma 1/2 They
aren't mine, and I'm borrowing them for a purely non-profit fictional work.
 As promised this is not Filkish, or silly.  Please be kind this is my
first attempt at real fic.

# indicates emphasis
< > indicates thoughts
[ ] indicates spoken Chinese 

------

A Prologue Chapter is coming, but for the moment: Our cast of heroes is
currently camping at Jusenkyo.  As usual Ranma nd Ryoga manage to get into
one of their continual fights, unfortunately Akane tried to stop them.

Other note: for reasons of volcanic activity the pools are unnaturally hot
at the moment.

Alos thank you to all commenters, you know who you are.  With your help
this reads a lot better, so enjoy.

JAA


------

Is this what death feels like?

The water's so warm, it enfolds me, welcome's me, makes me feel safe.
Though I wish, I wish I'd told him.

------

"No!" Ranma screamed as he dove forward, hitting the warm water.  His hands
stretched out before him, trying vainly to reach her as she slipped below
the surface, sinking quickly and quietly into the warm embrace of the
Jusenkyo pool.

------

She saw the hand reaching for her, she rose towards it, reached it, grasped
it and her breath, like the zephyr wind, died.  The shell cast away.  A new
home found, warm, safe�. she slept.

------

"What have you done to my little girl!"  The demon-headed Soun bawled as
Ranma worked frantically on Akane's still form.

<Breathe, dammit!  Come on tomboy, breathe, breathe, breathe.>  The mantra
in his mind continued as he repeatedly brought his lips to meet hers,
trying to force air into her still lungs.  <She can't be dead, she just
can't be>.

"Who's dead?"

"Huh!"  Ranma looked around frantically, his grip on reality taking a
sudden dive as he could have sworn Akane had addressed him.

Suddenly a cane came down with a massive thump, jarring Akane's chest.
"Come on heart, pump!" Cologne said as she 'pushed' the distraught boy
aside.  Ranma collapsed into a still heap, sleeping; his hands still
resting on Akane's shoulders.  "Oops, son-in-law must be very tired."

Cologne quickly took over the task of breathing life back into Akane, after
all Akane would have made a good Amazon if the circumstances were better,
also it would be good to have son-in-law owe her a favour, big-time.
Moments later, a sharp cough signaled her apparent success.  "Get a fire
started, and you'd better find a cart".

"But, but, but."  Blubbered the demonic head of Soun, "she's not moving.
Useless Boy!  You can't even protect your own fianc�e!" He screamed again,
turning to face the still-comatose Ranma.  "And! You!" His head swiveling
around (and around) 3600 degrees to face Ryoga.  "It's almost as much your
fault as it is Ranma's that #my little girl# fell into that pool, what were
you thinking of, fighting like that!  Last time you took her hair, now what
have you taken?"

A fleeting look of concern crossed Cologne's face, a succession of
different pressure points did not seem to have any affect.  Akane remained
apparently lifeless,  seeming to be shrink slowly into herself as she lay
there.  This was not something even Cologne was sure of how to deal with.
"Wake up, son-in-law", the use of the appropriate touch point bring Ranma
back to consciousness. <Maybe now that she's at least breathing , Ranma's
conscious presence might be enough to tip the balance in Akane.>  The
effect was not what Cologne anticipated, however.

"Akane?"  Her body convulsed violently as his hands left her.  The frayed
silver cord tying the two together snapped as he moved further away.  As
the cord broke, Akane's body heaved once and settled into a deeper, darker
sleep. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Cologne saw the tattered end of Akane's cord
playing in the wind.  <Her soul's gone,> she thought to herself.  <The body
will not last much longer, but how to tell #them#.>  The look of
desperation on Ranma's face as he picked Akane up silenced any attempts to
tell them now.  <They'll find out soon enough, and it may be a kindness to
have them all together>.  

[Shampoo, come here and help me.]  Cologne called, distracting her
granddaughter for the moment, now would definitely not be a good time to
chase after son-in-law, better to wait until he finishes mourning.

------

"Ranma, look out!"  

Ranma stopped suddenly, his foot poised gracefully above the puddle of
water, on close inspection the very deep puddle of water� cold water.  He
looked around frantically, trying to see who'd warned him.  Seeing no one,
he continued to walk behind the covered cart carrying Akane's apparently
lifeless form.

"Geez, Ranma you baka."

------

"Incoming."

Unconsciously Ranma stepped out of the path of the incoming GLOMP from
Shampoo.  He continued along behind the cart.  "Come on wake you stupid,
uncute, tomboy."

------

A week later

"Doctor, is there any hope?"  Soun asked.

"Well it's hard say, I mean there's nothing wrong physically."  <Apart from
the fact that her vital signs have not improved at all since we hooked her
up>, he mused, unsure if it was even safe to tell the man that fact.  "But
that's the problem with comas, we don't know a lot about them, what causes
them or, unfortunately, what cures them," the doctor said as he finished
examining Akane for the twentieth time in a day.  < I hope this guy gets
the hint, his daughter is just not there> he thought with some malice.
After all Soun, and the rest of the horde for that matter, had been giving
him and his staff hell, not to mention the building, which was now
seriously in need of repair.  That Ranma boy was worst though, he hadn't
left the patient's side at all.  "I suggest Sir, the you have a word with
the young gentleman in there, I mean a shower wouldn't hurt."

"Ranma, the doctor's right.  Akane's not going to appreciate waking up and
finding you smelling like something she's cooked.  Couldn't you have at
least had one shower between the pools and here."  Nabiki commented with a
little malice hearing the doctors comment from the hall, after all she was
standing next to Ranma at the moment and he #reeked#.

"Yeh, Ran-chan.  She ain't coming back to the one who couldn't save her"
Ryoga snarled, his own frustration at Akane's plight fully evident.

"Yeh, well I didn't see you saving her either, Pig-boy!"

"Out! I'm tired of you two fighting in here.  Your constant fighting is not
going to help the patient wake up!"  The doctor yelled, finally having had
enough.

""But didn't you say that a semblance of normality around her might help in
her recovery?"  Kasumi asked from the shadows.

"Yes."  He answered, "but what does that have..."

"Well, Ranma and Ryoga always fight."

"I don't care at the moment.  My staff and I have other patients to tend
and this disruptive behaviour is not good for them."

"Well, we could always take Akane home.  You said there's nothing
physically wrong with her, so maybe home might be the better environment."
Kasumi suggested reasonably.  "Our own physician Dr. Tofu could supervise
her if necessary".

Caught by his own words, he simply asked "Will it get these idiots out of
my hospital?"

"Yes"

"I'll sign the paper work immediately.  Though I suggest somewhere with a
little peace and quiet wouldn't hurt."  <Like maybe a temple, because
unless a miracle occurred, this girl is going to die>, he contemplated, but
even then couldn't bring himself to say the words.

------

Dr. Tofu's Residence�..

"Kasumi, I suggest you wait outside until we get Akane safely installed,
after all, Dr. Tofu does get a little silly around you still, sis."  Nabiki
suggested calmly, though she was still a little worried at how quickly the
hospital expedited Akane's release, the doctor obviously hadn't been
telling them everything.  "You take our #stinking heroes# home."

"Dr Tofu, we've brought Akane."

"Bring her in, I've got a room set up for her.  And have you got the
medical details from the hospital?"  Dr Tofu asked Nabiki, his eyes running
over Akane's still form.  <I'm not sure releasing her was such a good idea>
he thought as he noticed that the hospital details showed no changes during
the 24 hours she'd been there.  No change was synonymous with 'not good news'.

"What did Cologne have to say?"  He asked, "I mean she was with Akane until
your father admitted her to hospital".

That innocent question crystallized Nabiki's worries.  Cologne had said
very little, she had in fact taken Shampoo and left very quickly.
"Nothing, and that's what worries me.  I don't necessarily like the old
ghoul but with her knowledge I'd have thought she'd have been able to do
#something#".

------

The Dojo�..

"Ok Ranma. You first.  We've got plenty of HOT water so there is no reason
for you to continue to smell that way, is there?"  Kasumi asked mildly,
even she couldn't understand how Ranma had allowed himself to sink to that
level of 'fragrance'.

Faced with no choice but to finally bathe, Ranma found himself oddly
unsure.  He'd actually manage to avoid cold water for an entire week, an
unheard of reprieve from his curse.  But he now found himself with an
unnatural desire to plunge under a nice cold shower, maybe if he visited
Akane as Ran-chan, she might actually react, and he found himself oddly in
need of a reaction from Akane, any reaction at all, up to and including a
good malletting.

"What on earth for?"

Startled, Ranma grabbed the cold bucket, tipping it over his head before he
could fully understand the impulse that drove him.  "God's that's cold!"
She commented, still given that it had been so awfully refreshing, she
decided to forego the hot soak.  Anyway, she could smell lunch and as her
stomach reminded her it had been a while since she'd last eaten.

------

"Ryoga, will you go hurry Ranma up.  Lunch has been served and the rate
Father and Uncle Genma are eating there will soon be nothing left."  Kasumi
called from the kitchen, momentarily forgetting the lost boy's penchant for
getting lost.

Ryoga finally found his way upstairs.  Walking into the hall as Akane
walked out of her room.

------

To Be Continued...