This is all for tonite...

Chapter 11 is the logical half way point for the story. It's also the point 
when characterization becomes a *big* concern.

Before we rejoin our story, I'd like to thank all those who have written me 
over the last few days with their comments and criticism. You're really 
helping me to improve the story, so keep it up!


Ch 11 - Akane

	When Akane came to, it felt as if she was wrapped in
wool. She felt horribly weak, and there was an odd pain in her
back.
	"Wha--"

	Akane cut off, her own voice seeming terribly loud to
her. In fact, everything seemed terribly loud. There was a
pounding beneath her, and the wind howled against the window.

	She opened her eyes to see incredibly bright light
streaming through the window.

	Akane's eyes came into focus, and her mind cleared a
little. Everything was too bright and somehow not bright enough
at the same time.

	She heard a roaring wind behind her, and felt a
sledgehammer touch lightly on her shoulder.

	"It will take a few minutes to adjust," a voice, that at
once yelled and whispered, came from behind her.

	She turned to see the Nodoka's calm features behind her.
She realized a second later that it was the woman's arms that
were holding her up, and not her own.

	Nodoka leaned her against a pillow, and put a finger to
the girl's lips to quiet her.

	Complying, Akane lay limply, allowing her eyes to follow
Ranma's mother around the room.

	Having made sure Akane was comfortable, Nodoka crossed
the room to her bundle. Reaching inside it, she pulled out a
small fruit. A lemon, Akane knew with absolute certainty from
the pungent smell.

	"Can you see the scent?" Nodoka asked, cutting the lemon
in half with a small paring knife.

	Akane shook her head, ever so slightly, not knowing what
Nodoka was talking about.

	"Kasumi was seeing colors and sounds just after she woke
up. It can be very disorienting."

	Nodoka knelt next to her and touched the lemon's shining
pulp to her lip.

	"Taste it, dear," She prompted.

	Feeling the biting cold air rush over her tongue, she
reached out and touched the tip of her tongue to the beady
yellow surface.

	She jerked away violently. Her world was a universe of
***SOUR***.

	After the intenseness of the sensation died down,
however, Akane felt a whole other world of sensation flooding
from her tongue. Yes, the lemon was sour, but it was sweet as
well, with the clear air and sunlight of the orchard from which
it came. She could tell that Kasumi had washed the lemon with a
dab of the blue dish detergent she used, even though there was
still a faint haze of other fruit about it, from the market
which the older girl had bought it from.

	"This is amazing..." Akane whispered.

	"The intensity will become less noticeable with
experience," Nodoka instructed, "While the subtlety will become
easier to detect."

	Indeed, Akane found that the light streaming in the
window was not quite so unbearably bright, nor were the
cacophony of sounds pouring into her ears. In fact, she began
to make out individual sounds, the swish, click, and occasional
clang of Kasumi's cooking, the scrape and tap of her father and
Uncle Saotome's Shogi pieces, and the rapid scratching from the
pencil as Nabiki balanced her ledgers.

	There was a loud knock at the door. Akane jumped and
stood upright in shock, and immediately regretted the decision
as all the blood drained out of her head.

	She had to struggle to stay upright and keep from
blacking out.

	"Someone's at the door," she whispered.

	Nodoka nodded, and helped her stay upright.

	Akane recaught her balance, and began to pad gingerly to
the door of her room, feeling every thread of the carpet on her
bare feet. The hallway was even more of a sensory explosion.
She could feel every grain and pore in the hardwood floor, as
well as the slick wax that coated the surface.

	There was a whole new world of smells as well, as she
entered the rest of the house. Almost overriding everything
else was an alien smell. It was the scent of teriyaki and flour
and....

	"Okonomiyaki," Akane whispered.

	Sure enough, Ukyou was at the bottom of the stairs, with
a slightly confused look on her face, just about to walk out
the door.

	"Akane," Ukyou greeted her. "You doin' okay, Sugar? You
catch Nabiki's cold?"

	Akane looked at her in confusion for a second, but then
nodded weakly.

	"If you get to feelin' better, why don't you bring Ran-
chan and come by Ucchan's for some okonomiyaki later," Ukyou
offered. "See ya!"

	Akane watched Ukyou skip out the door bemusedly, taking
her cooking scent with her.

	"You really shouldn't have done that, Nabiki," Kasumi
scolded.

	In the normal tone of voice, Akane was shocked at all the
layers and subtones a person's voice took on. She thought she
had known her sister's voice, but now she knew she was
mistaken. "It wasn't very nice to do that to Ukyou."

	"Oh, what did she do?" Nodoka asked from behind her.

	"I used the voice," Nabiki stated boldly, a grin
appearing on her face. "She wanted to see Akane, but I
convinced her... *otherwise*," she chuckled.

	Akane sat down heavily on the stairs, her face in her
hands. She was rather surprised when she poked her own palms
with the fangs protruding from her mouth.

	

* * *



	Sore, beaten, brutalized, but victorious, Ranma trudged
through the front gate of the Tendou-ke. With a smile on her
face, she slid the front door open, and walked into the main
room.

	Her mother and Kasumi were sipping tea. Still clad in
only a short nightgown, Nabiki was doing something that looked
suspiciously like homework. She was using an abacus, so there
was a good chance that she was merely figuring her books. Ranma
thought the latter.

	They all looked up in surprise at his disheveled
appearance when he walked into the room, and there *was* the
reason that he had fought that monster in the first place.

	"Anybody seen Akane?" she asked, trying to keep the worry
out of her weary voice.

	A delicate hand touched her shoulder from behind.

	It was a feather light touch, the fingers just lightly
brushing against the blood and soot stained fabric.

	It was a touch that said 'I'm here' without any real
force behind it.

	Ranma froze. It was as if a ghost had just brushed her
shoulder.

	"Ranma?" Akane's voice said quietly and slowly.

	Ranma turned, relief quickly fading into foreboding.

	Akane, clad in one of her loose blouses and short skirts,
stood behind her. Although she wore light make-up her skin was
as pale as alabaster. Her movements were are all very careful,
and her breathing was closely measured, as if she feared that a
stray breath might set off a bomb.

	"Akane?" she asked, almost sure of what had happened.

	She only had to open her mouth to answer in response for
Ranma to verify her dreadful suspicions.

	Before she had a chance to speak, Ranma drew away from
the girl, the image of her elongated canines etching itself
firmly in her mind.

	She hissed sharply, sucking air between her teeth in
shock and anger.

	"Ranma, please..." Akane pleaded quietly, knowing that
her fangs were showing.

	"You didn't..." Ranma growled, knowing full well that she
had.

	Akane reached a hand out to the martial artist. "Please
don't j--"

	Ranma swatted her hand away before she had a chance to
finish.

	"I thought you said you weren't gonna do it, Akane!"
Ranma turned her head to the side and growled through her
teeth. "Damnitt, Akane! I thought I knew you!"

	Tears began to gather in Akane's eyes as Ranma turned to
face her mother.

	"This is *YOUR* fault!" she accused.

	"Actually, Ranma," Nabiki interrupted, as Nodoka's face
paled at the rebuke, "Kasumi and I are responsible for--"

	"Shut up!" Ranma cut her off. "JUST SHUT UP!!!"

	She broke through the group and leapt out the back shoji,
knocking one off its runner.

	The four women stood in silence for several seconds,
gazing in shock at the fled martial artist.

	"Well," Nabiki continued. "He certainly took that well."

	With a choked moan of concern, Akane ran out through the
open shoji after the cursed girl.

	Ranma was already leaping the wall by the time Akane had
made it into the back yard.

	Noticing Akane's motion out of the corner of her eye,
Ranma turned. Her face was a mask of rage and pain.

	"Why, Akane?!?!" she screamed, pausing on the stone wall.
"You promised me!!!!"

	"You don't understand, Ranma!" Akane shouted. Her voice
sounded like a tornado in her own ears. Her head spun at the
incredible sound. Even with the hurricane of her own voice and
her own breathing, she could hear everything around her. It all
threatened to overwhelm her.

	"I-I-I" Akane clenched her eyes shut, and clamped her
fists down on her ears, desperate for anything that would drown
out the overpowering sensations.

	After a few seconds, all she could hear was the sound of
her own heart beating. Cautiously, she let her eyes reopen, and
began to look around.

	Ranma had gone. From his smell, though, and from the
sound of his pounding heart and his rushing breath, Akane could
tell that her fiancee was sprinting down the street just as
well as if she could see her.

	She ran for the fence, and vaulted it with feet to spare
on her second stride.

	"God, Akane!" Ranma yelled in rage. "Stay the hell away
from me! "
	
	"Why can't you see, Ranma?!?!" Akane howled. "I *had* to
have this!"

	"BULLSHIT!!!!" Ranma screamed back. "You *HAD* to become
a monster? That's a lie, Akane, and you know it!"

	"It is not!" Akane responded. "Everyone! Everyone has
tried to kill me or kidnap me or... or hurt me or..."

	Akane flinched, the sensation of Kunou trying to press
his lips against her face coming back to her. She grit her
teeth, trying to keep from vomiting. She could already taste
the remnants of Kasumi and Nabiki's foaming blood in the back
of her throat.

	"Or... Or... rape me! And y-y-you," she stuttered, unsure
of her words. "And NOW I CAN DO SOMETHING TO FIGHT BACK!"

	Ranma snarled. Akane felt her knees trembling at the
high-pitched hiss.

	"This is just like the damned super soba or--"

	"The super soba or Do-chan or any of a hundred other ways
I have desperately tried to protect myself and my family,
Ranma!" she snapped back. "But now its a part of me!"

	"Can't you see what you've become?" Ranma demanded,
beginning to back away from the girl. "Can't you see what
you're doing?"

	"I HAVE BECOME WHAT I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF!" Akane
screeched.

	"I hate that." Ranma hissed. "I *hate* what you've
become. I *HATE* **YOU**!!!!"

	Akane didn't realize she had slapped at Ranma until she
had crossed the thirty foot gap between them in two steps. Her
open palm blurred in the air as it sped towards Ranma.

	And the martial artist caught it. Ranma's petite face was
cold with rage and anger. Her teeth were bared in a primal
snarl. With a rough jerk, she threw Akane's arm down.

	There was a pain in her back as her arm swung. Akane
ignored it, and brought her hand up again.

	Ranma's head rocked back as she connected. The red-head
stumbled back, her hands going to her face.

	Just for a second, Akane was terrified that she had
really hurt Ranma. She was moving so fast, and all her blows
were so powerful. She had no way to gauge her new strength.

	And then Ranma looked back at her. Tears were coursing
down the girl's cheeks. Her left hand still covered the rapidly
spreading red mark.

	Akane saw the blow coming. Just as she had, Ranma's open
palm came up. Akane couldn't dodge the slap. The loud crack of
Ranma's hand connecting with the side of her face echoed
through Akane's head. It hurt! It rocked her to her very core.

	Ranma's teeth were still clenched, more in pain and
anguish than rage. Akane could still feel the girl's hand on
her cheek. Worse, she could still feel the curve of Ranma's
delicate jaw in her own hand.

	Her whole body seemed to shatter with the realization.
Ranma had hit her.

	She could feel the first of her tears roll down her
cheeks.

	Ranma had hit her.

	God, she hurt. Her hand hurt where it had hit Ranma's
face. Her face was aching where Ranma hit her back. Her back
was on fire. She knew that if she let go, that Ranma would
leave.

	"Don't leave..." she whispered.

	"You've..." Ranma bit out through clenched teeth, her
voice breaking. "You're... You-You-You... *disgust* me, Akane!
You're a monster and you became one willingly!!!! I never wanna
look at you AGAIN!!!!"

	Ranma turned and ran.

	Seemingly of its own volition, Akane's body threw itself
into the chase. She was running after Ranma, her strides
carrying her impossibly long distances.

	Ranma leapt, going to the top of a nearby house. With
little effort, Akane duplicated the feat and began to hop from
rooftop to rooftop, just behind the martial artist.

	Racing three sheets to the wind, the pair ran through a
wooded yard. Ranma bounced off the branches of the oak tree
like a pachinko ball. Akane followed his every move, breaking
several of the branches Ranma had just lit lightly upon.

	"Leave me alone, God-dammnit!" Ranma cried out.

	Pushing herself, Akane caught up with the red head, only
to catch a poorly aimed blow to her gut. Angry, enraged even,
Akane lashed out as well, driving her fist into Ranma's
shoulder.
	
	The girl tumbled and fell out of the tree, but didn't
stop to check for injuries as she sped away from the yard.

	"Don't you DARE leave me alone, Ranma!!!!" Akane cried
out.

	Ranma was beyond caring. She simply ran.

	Within seconds, the two came to the bridge over the
canal. Without thinking, Ranma leapt up on one of the narrow
railings and began to speed along it at a breakneck pace. Akane
leapt up on the opposite side and pushed herself forward,
matching Ranma pace for pace, step for step.

	Ranma leapt off the end of the railing in a long stride.
At the apogee of her arc, she coiled into a ball, and turned a
flip before landing effortlessly on the pavement below.

	Akane threw herself into the somersault as well, and came
down within a fraction of a second after Ranma.

	They ran...

	For just a instant... a single, solitary instant, their
paces lined up perfectly. Ranma ran alongside Akane ran
alongside Ranma.... She reached out to Ranma...

	And Ranma slapped her arm away.

	The two barreled into a playground. Akane could smell her
sister's blood, and knew instantly where they were. Ranma...
Ranma was still coursing away from her. Akane leapt, tackling
the martial artist at the knees. The two rolled and hit the
hard bars of a jungle-gym.

	Ranma groaned with the impact but turned lashed out at
the girl. She caught Akane on the shoulder with a mis-aimed
fist, but Akane returned her blow, jamming her fist into
Ranma's ribs. Ranma tried to twist out of Akane's grip, but the
girl had caught her leg in a scissors lock. Akane jerked
violently, wrenching Ranma's leg.

	In pain and rage and anguish, Ranma lashed out again,
driving a wicked right into Akane's face.

	Barely feeling the blow in her own personal agony, Akane
returned the blow, viciously blackening Ranma's eye.

	Blow after blow was exchanged, but neither of the girls
let up. It was by no means a martial arts competition, but
rather a drop down drag out brawl. Both were so hurt and
confused that they couldn't find their centers well enough for
event the most basic techniques. Instead, they rolled on the
ground like drunken wrestlers, hammering away at each other
like a whirlwind.

	For a second, Ranma managed to pin Akane. The larger girl
quickly turned herself over, though, throwing Ranma to the
ground.

	"Whatcha gonna do, Akane?!?!" Ranma cried out a taunt,
trying to wrench her arms and legs free. "You're fangs are
stickin' out! You gettin' ready to  drink my blood? You gonna
eat me alive? Huh? HUH? HUH?"

	Not realizing that her fangs were indeed showing, Akane's
hands went to her mouth as she violently tore herself of
Ranma's body. Ranma's freed fist caught her on the back of the
head as she turned. Akane whipped back around to return Ranma's
blow, but something caught her attention.

	There were two young men standing some distance away.
Both were watching their fight in the otherwise deserted
playground. They were whispering, but Akane could hear every
word that was said.

	"What a cat fight!" the larger one commented.
	
	"Awesome. I hope they tear off each other's clothes.
Maybe we'll get to see some titty."

	"That'd be good. I wish I had a video camera."

	Akane's vision turned red. She was doing her best to
justify herself... Justify what she had done. For all her
troubles, Ranma had led her to where she could be most
humiliated.

	"*****I HATE YOOOOUUUU*****" Akane screamed. She belted
Ranma with an uppercut that came so hard and so fast that she
could hear it whistle through the air like an airplane.

	Not waiting to see where the martial artist landed, Akane
ran... ran away... Away from Ranma.

	Akane ran home.


* * *



	The front door to 'Ucchan's' slid open. Ukyou looked up
from where she was scraping the grill to see who had managed to
open the latched door.

	"I'm sorry but we're clo--Ran-chan?!?!"

	The bedraggled martial artist stumbled through the door
and collapsed against the wall just inside it.

	"Oh my god! Whats the matter, Ran-chan?" Ukyou cried,
dropping her wire brush and running over to the exhausted young
woman. A quick inspection of the listless youth showed her to
be bruised, probably beaten, and dirty with a crusty black goo.

	"Who did this to you?" She demanded.

	With a pained look... a look that embodied more pain than
Ukyou thought she had ever seen, Ranma gazed into her eyes.
There were unshed tears standing in hers

	"Who?" she asked again, feeling tears coming to her own
eyes.

	"Akane..."

- To be continued.



* * *
Chris Jones - guilty@arn.net
The Ranma 1/2 Gallery - http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/ranma

It's 1999. Do you know what your children are?