Ranma 1/2 is used without permission
Thanks to Allyn Yonge for the idea, and Gary Kleppe 
for his technical assistance so far.


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        The streets of Nerima were empty, the windows of the houses and
stores dark as the night outside. Streetlamps provided their pale
fluorescent glow, complimenting the light from the  harvest moon in the sky.
The air carried with it a noticeable chill, promising winter soon.
        Ranma stared up at the black sky, hating the feeling of helplessness
that stole over him whenever he thought of Akane's plight. Every time Akane
had been threatened, he'd be the one to save her. He had defeated dragons,
princes, and demons to protect her. He had faced impossible odds, and had
come through for her.
        This, however, was an entirely different enemy. It was an enemy that
fully intended to kill her, but from the inside. An enemy that Ranma's fists
couldn't stop.
        Ranma had no idea what to do. The doctors said that Akane didn't
have very much time, that the best thing to do was to ensure that her last
days were as comfortable as possible.
        No matter how he tried, though, he felt like it was a cop-out. There
had to be some way, some cure that he was missing. In desperation, he had
gone to Cologne in the hopes that the wizened matriarch would know what to
do. She only shook her head sadly and repeated what the doctors told him.
Ranma walked through the empty Nerima streets with the moon full and high in
the dark sky, no closer to an answer than he was before.
        It had started two months ago. Akane began having severe headaches,
forcing her to remain in her room with the lights off and a cool cloth on
her forehead. At first they thought it was just stress, with final exams
weighing heavily on the students of Furinkan. But once the finals were over,
the headaches only got worse.
        Soon after, she began losing weight at an alarming rate. Her
appetite was all but gone, and she slept most of the day, when the headaches
let up. It took days of urging to get the stubborn girl to at least see
Doctor Tofu. He referred her to someone named Izawa at Tokyo General,
calling him an Oncologist. Ranma thought it was some weird insult, until
Kasumi explained that it was the title of a doctor who treated cancer.
After a day of constant tests, they were all sent home to await the results.
Three days later, they were all called back to hear the diagnosis.
        Akane had been diagnosed with a malignant glioblastoma on her
cerebral cortex. At first, Ranma had no clue what Izawa was talking about.
Izawa sorrowfully explained that a cancerous tumor was growing on Akane's
brain, and that no method of treatment or surgery could get rid of it. Never
in his whole life had he heard anyone apologize so many times in the space
of twenty minutes.
        Ranma stopped outside an old Shinto shrine and stared up at the
well-lit interior. The soft glow from the lanterns bathed the stone steps in
a warm light, the surfaces of the steps worn smooth by years upon years of
use. For a second, he was tempted to go in, but decided against it. After
all, it wouldn't help him any. Turning around, Ranma began to walk away.
        "Are you lost, son?" The voice startled Ranma, bringing him back
around in an instant. In the center of the top step stood an old man in a
traditional kimono. His skin was lined and weathered, the light from the
lanterns reflecting off his clean shaven head. His features were slightly
angular, with almost hypnotic eyes peering out from a serious face. Ranma
could have sworn the spot was empty a second ago.
        "Nah... Just lookin'," Ranma replied.
        "You seem troubled," the priest said. "Would you like to some in?"
        Ranma's refusal died on his lips as he looked at the old priest's
eyes. All of a sudden, he realized that he was very thirsty, and a cup of
Oolong Tea would really hit the spot. Ranma walked up the smooth stone steps
and followed the old man into the shrine.

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        The inside of the shrine was as most Shinto shrines, simple yet
elegant. Kneeling at the low table in an anteroom to the main chamber, Ranma
sipped tea across from the old priest. Ordinarily, Ranma would probably
never have set foot in there, but there was just something about this
particular man. Ranma couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could be
rather persuasive.
        "Now, tell me what could be troubling a young man such as yourself,"
the priest said as he took a sip of tea. Ranma related the story of how
Akane was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the frustration building as
he spoke.
        "This Akane, she is important to you, yes?"
        "Yeah," Ranma said. He couldn't bring himself to admit to anyone
else that he loved her, he could hardly say it to himself. The old man
nodded sagely, his eyes twinkling.
        "They are right," the priest began, "you should make her as
comfortable as possible." Ranma's face fell slightly at being told once
again that there was nothing he could do to help her. Angrily, Ranma rose to
leave when the priest spoke again. "Of course, there may be another way."
        "What?" Ranma whispered, staring at the priest's weathered face. His
heart was stuck in his throat, hope rushing throughout him. Could there be a
way after all? 
        "Have you ever heard of the Ebon Vein?"
        "No," Ranma answered.
        "A substance flows through it called Crimson Dawn. This wondrous
fluid can reverse the ailment your Akane suffers from..."
        "Where is it?!" Ranma shouted, grabbing the wizened man by the front
of his kimono and lifting him off the ground. The priest merely smiled at
Ranma's reaction.
        "Of course I'll tell you young man," he replied, "but first, there
is something you must do." Ranma released him, an angry scowl twisting his
features. "I am in need of a strong, able fighter such as yourself."
        "Why?" Ranma asked.
        "All in good time, my boy," he answered. "I will give you the
Crimson Dawn, and in return I will retain your services indefinitely."
Warning bells went off in Ranma's head at the catch.
        "What services are you talkin' about?" Ranma asked.
        "Never mind that, now," he replied. "You will learn soon enough."
        "An' you're sayin' that Akane'll live?"
        "Akane Tendo will be spared the disease which is killing her," the
priest replied. Ranma's face clouded with doubt. It sounded almost too good
to be true. Was it possible that this Crimson Dawn stuff could cure Akane?
Could the old priest be telling the truth? 
"Consider, young man," the priest said. "And quickly. Time is of the
essence." Finally, Ranma consented.
        "All right," he said.
        "Excellent," the priest said, extending his hand. Ranma clasped the
man's forearm, the priest returning the gesture. "As I promised," he said,
producing a small emerald vial from the inside of his kimono. "Pour this
into her drink, and ensure that she drinks it immediately." Ranma reached
for the vial, which the priest snatched away with a speed that defied his
age. "Do not expect results immediately. It will take several days for the
tumor to be completely destroyed, and some time for her to regain her
strength and vitality."
        "I got it, already," Ranma growled, "now gimme the vial!" The priest
handed the vial to the young man, who charged out the door, a triumphant
yell bursting from his lips.
        The priest's face twisted into a lunatic grin, his eyes sparkling
with a menacing light. Reaching into his kimono, he produced a large green
emerald.
        The emerald was roughly the size of an adult human heart, and was
cool to the touch. The surface of the obscenely large gem was smooth, the
color flat and muted. However, that would soon change when the deal was
completed.
        Chuckling smugly, the priest replaced the emerald in his kimono.

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        "Hey, Akane," Ranma said as he stepped into her bedroom. A lamp
shone beside her bed, casting its light on her pale and gaunt face. She
turned her face to him, a small smile spreading across her lips.
        She nearly disappeared beneath the comforter that covered her to her
chin. Her eyes shone in the light of the small lamp, pain clear in their
brown depths. Ranma's heart nearly broke again at the sight of her.
        "How ya doin'?" he asked her. It was a stupid question, but small
talk was never his strong suit.
        "Okay, considering," she said, her voice weak. The skin on her face
seemed almost translucent. The once-beautiful girl he fell in love with
looked now to be little more than a skeleton with flesh. However, she still
fought to hold on, letting Ranma know that the girl he met the first day he
arrived was still there. On the small nightstand besid her bed rested a
myriad of small bottles, each containing medicines and pain killers of one
sort or another. A small metal bucket rested upside-down in one corner of
the room, a neatly folded washcloth atop it. Akane's condition made trips to
the furo impossible, which also accounted to the small chamberstool in the
other corner. Ranma averted his gaze from the corners, affixing it solely on
the girl in the bed before him.
        "Can't sleep, huh?"
        "No," she answered. There were nights when the pain was too much to
allow her to sleep. Those nights were becoming more and more frequent
lately. "The medicines aren't helping as much as they used to."
        "I, uh, brought you some water," Ranma said, handing her the glass.
With another smile, she drank the clear liquid, not noticing Ranma's intent
stare. Surprisingly, she drained the whole glass, handing it back with a
pleased look on her face.
        "I haven't been that thirsty in a while," she said.
        "Want another?"
        "No, Ranma," Akane said, wincing as another spasm of pain hit her.
Ranma placed a hand on her shoulder, a concerned look on his face. Akane
gave him another small smile as the pain gradually subsided. "You know
what's funny?"
        "What?"
        "That it took something like this to get us to stop fighting," Akane
said. Ranma's face fell as she said it, realizing that he had wasted so much
time. "I'm sorry, Ranma," she said when she saw his reaction.
        "No problem," he replied. "You want me to go?"
        "No," she replied. "Stay. Please." Ranma took a seat in the chair
beside her bed, and stayed all through the night.

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       For three days Ranma stayed near Akane, not wanting to leave her
side. He watched her closely for any sign of improvement, anything at all. A
few times, he had left the room, when Kasumi had to help her bathe or
something. Ranma absolutely couldn't stand to see her that way. He recalled
the time when Happosai had hit him with that strenght-sapping moxibustion.
He couldn't stand for Akane to see him so weak and pathetic, and he'd told
her so. He knew Akane couldn't stand for him to see her in her condition
either. However, unlike Akane, Ranma wasn't dying.
        His hope that the Crimson Dawn stuff would help was beginning to
fade. The priest had said it would take some time, but Ranma's patience was
weaing out. Of course, he never had that much patience to begin with.
Akane's condition steadliy worsened ove rthose three days, casting a pall
about the house. Kasumi went about her chores like a robot. Her ever-presetn
smile was gone, adn her food just wasn't as good, which Genma pointed out to
him in private. Nabiki kept to herself more and more, a haunted look in her
eyes despite her cool exterior. Soun, however, remained eerily calm. He
would sit cross-legged at the porch facing the koi pond, staring out at
nothing. Genma had tried to to interest him in a game of Go a few times, but
Soun just sat there, lifless as a rock.
        Ranma had debated whether or not he should tell Akane about the
Crimson Dawn for a while, but decided against it. He didn't want to get her
hopes up unnessecarily. If it didn't work, she would have died in peace.
        The two also began talking  more than they used to. Though he still
hadn't admitted how he felt to her, he looked into her eyes and knew on some
almost spiritual level that she felt the same. The words just weren't
important anymore.

        Two more days passed, Ranma spending as much time with Akane as he
could. Ukyo had come by once to check on Akane, tears in her eyes at how
frail and weak her friend and rival had become. She left soon after she
arrived, unable to watch it any longer.
        On the fifth morning, Ranma awoke in the small chair by her bed,
Akane looking at him in that impossibly cute way she had. He found himself
smiling at her despite the annoying pain he had in his back.
        "Comfortable?" she asked with a little grin.
        "Nope," he replied. He grabbed the back of the chair and twisted his
torso, cracking his spine. Akane winced at the sound as Ranma twisted to his
right and his left. Facing her again, he asked, "How're ya doin'?"
        "I'm feeling kinda good today, actually," she said. Some days, the
pain was manageable, but those days were few and far between lately. "To
tell the truth, I'm a little hungry," she said as she pushed herself into a
sitting position, leaning against the headboard.
        "Really?" Ranma asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice. She hadn't
been able to eat anything for days, citing that she wasn't hungry. What she
tried to eat often came right back up, the cancer and pain preventing her
from keeping anything down. As Ranma went to fetch her a bowl of rice, he
wondered if the Crimson Dawn had taken effect.

        Over the course of the next week, Ranma began seeing a dramatic
improvement in Akane's condition. Her appetite began to return in force, the
weight she had lost coming back to her. Her skin began to regain its color
and tone, and her dependence on the myriad of pain killers the doctors had
prescribed lessened every day.
        Everyone was stunned at Akane's improvements. Nearly every
Oncologist in Tokyo had said that Akane would die, and yet she was
recovering. Nobody knew what to make of it except Ranma, who remained
silent. As the days went by and Akane got better, Ranma wondered just when
the old man would come to collect his fee. Ranma didn't think about it,
instead spending most of his time with Akane, helping her recuperate.
        The final confirmation that this wasn't just a fluke came when they
re-visited Doctor Izawa at Tokyo General, the first of the doctors to say
that Akane had no chance. He gazed at the test results in his hand with wide
eyes as he shook his head in disbelief. Akane, while still a bit weak, was
looking absolutely incredible when compared to two weeks ago. He asked Akane
to undergo more tests, to see just what had happened. He had never seen a
case of Spontaneous Remission before, and wanted a chance to study the rare
event. Akane agreed to return in a few weeks for the first round of testing,
though it didn't really matter to Ranma. Akane was all right. She would
live. Holding her tightly, with the rest of the family joining him, he knew
that the deal he made with the old man was genuine, and the price was more
than worth paying.

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        The party that night at the Tendo Dojo was an absolute blowout.
Everyone had shown up, the other martial artists in Nerima, all of Akane's
friends, even most of the student body of Furinkan was there. Kasumi was
busily preparing more food in the kitchen with the help of Nodoka and some
of Akane's friends from Home Ec.
        The people talked and laughed amongst themselves, many surrounding
Akane and Ranma, who were sitting rather close together. The music thrummed
throughout the room, providing an almost subliminal groove that seemed to
compliment the voices of the crowd instead of overpowering it. The music was
one of Nabiki's touches and Ranma had to admit, she knew how to play it subtle.
        Through the crowd, Ukyo approached, spatula on her back and sake cup
in her hand. Kneeling before the two, she reached out and hugged Akane
fiercely, a small sob escaping her lips. Akane returned the gesture just as
sincerely, tears in her eyes as well. 
        "I'm glad you're okay, girl," Ukyo said in a shaky voice. Her voice
carried a strange note of guilt, though she had no reason to feel guilty.
        "Thanks," Akane replied in a voice that was no more steady. The two
finally parted, and she repeated the gesture with Ranma. She pulled back
almost reluctantly, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. There ws a
certain sadness in her eyes, but it was gone before Ranma could really notice.
        "Shampoo glad Akane be okay," the purple haired Amazon said as she
knelt before them, next to Ukyo. Her expression of well-wishes weren't as
physical as Ukyo's but no less heartfelt. She, too, seemed to carry a note
of guilt in her voice.
        "I, too, am glad that you are in good health again," Mousse said as
he knelt next to Shampoo, who moved away from him as he did so.
        A low moaning sounded from behind Ranma and Akane, eliciting a scowl
from them. Reaching back, Akane rapped Kuno on the head, sending him back
into the grip of unconsciousness before he could awaken. He had resumed his
amorous advances on Akane, much to the chagrin of the two.
        "I'm glad you're feeling better girl," Cologne said from the tip of
her staff. They all turned to look up at the wizened old woman, Ranma
unconsciously placing a protective arm about Akane's shoulders.
        "Thanks," Ranma said in a guarded tone. He never did trust the old
ghoul, and probably never would. Cologne's steady gaze seemed almost to bore
into him, searching for something. Eventually, her gaze left him, and she
left for the kitchen. Ranma almost breathed a sigh of relief as the old
woman left.
        The farthest thing from his mind was the deal he made with the old man.
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        Whew, revising this didn't take long, did it? I hope you enjoy it!

        Soundtrack: The scene in Akane's room, while she still had cancer,
was written to the song "Knock Me Out". The song was performed by Linda
Perry, featuring Grace Slick and is on the soundtrack to The Crow: City of
Angels".