Nihao!  This isn't my fan-fic, but instead it's by my very good IRL friend 
Sayuri-chan Akane, and this is her first fan-fic, so be nice!  She's really 
looking for some C&C, and I asked permission to upload to the FFML (which she 
is currently not a part of), so here it is!  Her e-mail address is 
Akane18@furinkanhigh.com (or you can reply to me & I'll forward it to her).  
Arigato gozaimasu!  I copied and pasted this thing directly from her website 
(but I don't like giving out my real name, that's why the [Luna Hinomura] 
thing is there.
I like html so that's why I add these funky things.


I would like to start by dedicating this fanfic to [Luna Hinomura], one of 
the most spectacular and loyal friends I have ever had, and without whom I 
would be oblivious to the vast and wonderful world of anime in general, and 
Ranma � in particular. 

I would also like to thank the magnificent Krista Perry, whose exquisite 
fanfic inspired me to write my own.  Whether or not that was a good idea will 
soon be tested...and I will rely on you, the reader, to let me know. ^_^ And 
while I don't presume that this fic could ever compete with Ms.
Perry's, I want all of you to go read hers because it rocks! 

Oh yeah, and I had better include that disclaimer about how all the Ranma �
characters are under the dominion of the one and only Rumiko Takahashi...I
did NOT make them up, although I did throw into this fic a few characters of
my own.  Thank you, THE AUTHOR 


Yosomono no Omoide 
*~{A Stranger's Memories}~*

a Ranma � fanfic by Sayuri-chan Akane 


Part I - Sakura 

	"Get back here, old man!  That's *my* breakfast you're running off 
with!"
	The angry cry rang over the din of a normal day in Nerima, where a 
dark-haired, pig-tailed boy in a crimson Chinese shirt and black pants chased 
after a very large, very smug panda.  "Can't you eat some wood or bamboo or 
somethin'?" he shouted. 
	The sun shone brightly on the rooftops and startled passersby looked 
up, puzzled at the scene before them.  The panda looked back at the boy as if 
to say, "C'mon, Ranma m'boy, can't you even catch up to an animal three times 
your size?"  Ranma muttered under his breath and leapt off the roof as the 
panda jumped into the backyard of the Tendo household, where the breakfast 
"theft" had occurred.
	Meanwhile, inside the house, Akane Tendo had just awakened.  "Good 
morning,
P-chan!" she said, smiling at the little black piglet she held in her arms.  
P-chan wore a yellow-and-black scarf and a sleepy expression.  "How are you 
this morning?"
	P-chan just bweed happily and left the room through the open door, 
leaving Akane so she could change out of her pajamas.  He walked casually 
down the hall to the bathroom, turned on the hot water, and promptly turned 
into a boy.
	Outside, the infuriated Ranma Saotome was still chasing the panda, 
who mocked him by munching on his breakfast while dodging the boy's attacks.  
The agile Ranma leapt over the not-so-agile panda, who turned in surprise.
	"Ai-YAAAAA!!!" the boy cried as he rebounded off the back wall and 
flew at the puzzled panda.  At the last minute, the panda dodged and Ranma 
crashed through a window, landing inside the house.  Suddenly, he found a 
girl's fist smashing into his face and, as his vision cleared and he fell 
back out the window, he saw Akane's angry face glare out the window at him.
	"Ranma, you PERVERT!!" she yelled, clutching her shirt - the shirt 
she had not yet put on - to her chest.
	Ranma fell into the koi pond and a bewildered, buxom, red-haired 
young woman popped up.  "Aww!...what the heck did I do now?!" she cried.
	Just then, Ryoga Hibiki, a.k.a. P-chan, ran out into the backyard.  
"RANMA!!!" he shouted angrily.  "What have you done to Akane?!  You were 
peeking at her getting dressed again, weren't you?  You aren't fit to be her 
fianc�e!!"  The only thing that kept him from dragging Ranma out of the koi 
pond and beating his face in was his fear of the cold water and his 
subsequent change back into his cursed form P-chan...fear because Akane was 
watching...
	"Saotome, what's all the racket?" a voice boomed from the house.  
Everyone
looked up in surprise.  Soun Tendo stood at the door with his two other
daughters, Nabiki and Kasumi.
	The panda just held up a sign.  ". . ."

*      *      *      *      *

	"Well, Saotome, another day passes, and Ranma and Akane seem to be
accepting their destiny as the heirs to the Anything-Goes School of Martial 
Arts!" Soun Tendo said proudly later that afternoon as he and his 
previously-panda friend, Genma Saotome, played go.
	"You know, Tendo, I think you're right," Genma laughed.  "Akane 
hasn't hit
him at all since this morning.  It's a record!"
	The two men laughed and silently congratulated themselves on producing
heirs for the Tendo dojo.
	Meanwhile, Akane was in her room.  She sat at her desk working on her 
homework, trying to ignore the sound of Ryoga admonishing Ranma for his 
"abominable behavior" towards his fianc�e and his declaration that he was 
going on a journey to clear his mind and focus on his martial arts.  Akane 
sighed.  *We won't be seeing him for a while,* she thought, remembering 
Ryoga's atrocious sense of direction.
	Suddenly, she heard someone arrive at the dojo by bicycle.  A minute 
later,
the sound faded and Kasumi stepped into her room.
	"Akane.  This package was just delivered for you.  I wonder what it 
could
be?" she said.
	Akane shrugged.  "Who's it from?
	"I don't know.  There's no name or return address on it."  Kasumi 
left, closing the door behind her and Akane opened the package, revealing a 
beautiful little box carved out of wood and decorated exquisitely with cherry 
trees.  It had tiny golden legs to stand on and a miniature handle on the 
side.  She turned the handle gently but nothing happened.  She gazed 
wonderingly at the peculiar design of the box - a little bit of gold here, an 
intricately carved branch there, everything done with wonderful attention to 
detail.
	She opened the lid and gasped.  It was a music box and the sounds that
trickled out were more lovely than any she had ever heard.  It played a 
beautiful and slow melody that seemed to come from the very air around her.  
And though the tune was in a major key, it had a tinge of melancholy to it.  
The music surrounded her completely and she was engulfed in it until 
suddenly...it stopped.  She blinked as if coming out of a dream and, noticing 
the little handle on the side once again, she tilted the box a little to turn 
it, but a slight movement caught her attention.  She looked on the floor, 
where a few small, light-pink pieces of something had fallen
out of the box.  She leaned over and picked up the objects.
	...cherry blossoms...soft, delicate cherry blossoms...
	Akane tilted her head slightly and frowned.  A memory surfaced in her 
mind - she was in Kyoto with someone...her mother...she was very little and 
danced around in the falling cherry blossoms they had come to see.  Her 
mother laughed quietly and took her hand as they walked through the cascading 
flowers.  "Akane," her mother said.  "My dear little Akane...Akane..."
	"Akane!"
	Akane's head jerked slightly and she blinked as Nabiki's voice 
pierced through her reverie.  Her sister opened the door and poked her head 
in.  "Akane, it's time for dinner.  Are you coming or not?"
	"Oh, yes, thanks, Nabiki," she said.  "I'll be right down."
	Nabiki left and Akane sighed. *I wonder who this music box is from,* 
she thought. *And why does it remind me of my mother?*
	She set the little box on her desk and went down for dinner, still 
puzzled over the mysterious package.

*      *      *      *      *

	Akane was still thinking about that music box, the cherry blossom 
petals, and her sudden remembrance of her mother as she lay in bed that 
night.  Not that she didn't constantly think about her mother, but memories 
like that rarely surface unless awakened by something.  How could something 
as strange and unfamiliar as that mysterious box stir a memory almost 
completely forgotten?  Akane had scarcely remembered that day in Kyoto, and 
it puzzled her that she should remember it when she had received such a 
bizarre package - which brought up the question of who had sent it.  Who 
would have sent such a box?  Certainly not Shampoo or Cologne - neither one 
of them liked her much.  And it couldn't have been Kuno...he didn't have the 
kind of personality to send anonymous little gifts.  Not to mention expensive 
ones, although she could imagine him spouting off about the "staggering 
wealth of
the Kuno family."  Could it have been Ryoga?  No, he didn't have the money 
for such a present.  So it was obviously someone who was wealthy...someone 
with a sense of the mysterious...
	She sighed and closed her eyes. *Figure it out in the morning,* she 
thought as she felt sleep overtake her.  She was asleep when the music box 
lid opened and the music began to play again softly...

	*...Akane...*

	Akane sat up with a jerk.  Someone was calling her name.  "Who's 
there?"
she whispered.

	*...Akane...*

	The voice that called her name was thin, as if it was traveling a 
great distance.  And it was in her head, she realized suddenly.  There was a 
pleading sadness in it, and she trembled with uncertainty.  "Who are you?  
What do you want?" she asked, apprehension tinging her voice with fear.

	*...Akane...*

	Now the voice was louder, closer...

	...in the same room with her... 

	It seemed to even come out of the moonlight that cast a silver 
brilliance over her desk.  The voice swirled around her, ebbing and flowing 
around her and filling her heart with dread.  Her mind raced with thoughts 
and images of what this thing could be and she assumed the worst possible 
scenario...a ghost, a demon, anything evil and supernatural...
	*No, not evil,* she thought. *Just sad...*
	Suddenly, the disembodied voice seemed to gather into an 
almost-intangible form in the darkness next to her bed.  As Akane watched 
unbelievingly, the shadowy outline of a man began to take shape.  Though 
seemingly collected from darkness, details in his face could be seen and 
Akane saw a beautiful male face before her - penetrating eyes, delicate nose, 
expressive mouth, strong chin...and a look on his face of entreating 
hopelessness, combined with a bit of determination.

	"Akane..."

	And his voice, when he spoke, was filled with tenderness, a gentle 
protectiveness that, no matter how seemingly innocent, did nothing to lessen 
her fear.  His diaphanous hand reached out slowly to stroke the side of her 
face.  Akane's eyes widened, her heart beat wildly in her chest...and her 
hand flew up, grabbing the hand that had just touched her face.  His eyes 
widened and his mouth opened slightly as if to speak, but Akane's silence 
broke first.  "RANMAAA!!" she cried.
	The phantom seemed to step back suddenly and Akane saw him clearly in 
the
moonlight.  He gazed at her achingly for an instant before disappearing 
completely.
	Suddenly, the door to Akane's room opened and Ranma burst in.  
"Akane!  What's wrong?"
	Akane stared at him wide-eyed.  "Did you see that?  That 
man...shadow...his
face!...he touched me, Ranma, he touched me!  I know he seemed too 
transparent but he did!..."
	"Akane, what are you talking about?  You must have just had a bad 
dream or
somethin'," Ranma said condescendingly.  "And here I was, actually worried
about you."
	Akane glared at him.  "It was real, Ranma!  And don't try to make me 
believe otherwise.  Go back to bed, Ranma!  I didn't want you in here anyway!"
	"Then why did you yell for me, you stupid tomboy?!"
	"You must have been hearing things!"
	"ARRGH!!  You are so uncute!"  Ranma stomped out of the room, 
slamming the
door behind him.
	Akane stuck her tongue out.  "Baka!"  She lay down on her bed again.  
"And I don't need you worrying about me anyway."  She pulled the covers up 
and noticed that the music box had closed itself again, though she couldn't 
get that haunting melody out of her head.  The shadowy figure who had become 
tangible right here in front of her, in this very room, just a few minutes 
ago, continued to reach out and touch her face over and over in her 
imagination.  Even when she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she couldn't 
escape the image of his face just before he had disappeared.
	Akane didn't sleep very well that night.

*      *      *      *      *

	Two weeks later, Akane was sitting on her bed, reading one of her 
favorite sh�jo manga, when the music box again opened and the music began to 
play.  Startled, she stared at the box but quickly scrambled off of her bed 
and, slamming the lid down, shoved it into her backpack, the closest thing 
she could find to try and shut the thing up.  She didn't want to go through 
that same bizarre experience of a couple of weeks ago.
	Just then, Kasumi poked her head in.  "Akane, I need some fish 
crackers and
rice from the store for dinner tonight.  Would you mind going for me?"
	"Sure, Kasumi!" Akane replied with a smile.  "Just give me a second 
and I'll get my jacket."
	"Oh, and I have a list of a few other household things we could use, 
as well," Kasumi said, handing Akane a list and going back down to the 
kitchen.
	Akane grabbed her coat and went downstairs.  Putting her shoes on at 
the door, she called out "I'll be right back!" and left.  She strolled down 
the street humming to herself and smiling as the birds flew overhead.  "What 
a nice day it is today!"
	Around the corner, Ryoga Hibiki stopped walking and stared up at the 
sun.  "I wonder where I am now," he mumbled.  Suddenly, he found himself face 
to face with Akane.  "Akane!  Wh-what are you doing here?" he stuttered, 
blushing.
	Akane smiled.  "Oh, hi, Ryoga!  I'm getting some things from the 
store for Kasumi.  I'm glad to see you're back from your trip.  How was it?"
	"Oh, Okinawa was nice, but strangely warm for this time of year."  He 
reached his hand up to the back of his head.  "Mind if I go with you to the 
store?"
	"Not at all, Ryoga.  I'd enjoy the company."
	*She said she'd enjoy the company,* Ryoga thought giddily. *My 
company...heh heh...*
	The two walked along the street, with Akane commenting on the nice 
weather
and Ryoga just chuckling nervously to himself, when suddenly the list Kasumi 
had given Akane blew out of her hand.
	Ryoga chased after it.  "I'll get it!"
	Akane laughed as the list blew around the next corner and Ryoga 
followed.  But Ryoga soon found himself drenched in cold water from the old 
woman who had been throwing it out onto the street.  He bweed angrily as 
Akane turned the corner.  "P-chan!" she exclaimed.  "Where did you come from? 
 And where did Ryoga go?"  She looked around.  "Oh well, he probably got 
lost," she laughed.  She picked up the list, which had come to rest against 
the wall, and took P-chan into her arms.  "Come on, P-chan, you can keep me 
company then."
	An hour later when they emerged from the store, the wind had picked 
up and clouds had covered the sun.  And as Akane walked, P-chan still coming 
along for the ride, the wind whipped around her, and she almost swore she 
heard her name being called.  She looked around but saw no one.  P-chan had 
noticed as well, and became extremely apprehensive, bweeing nervously.  Akane 
was reminded suddenly of the night two weeks ago when the specter-like image 
had appeared to her and she began walking quickly to the house.  But nothing 
more than that happened and soon she was home, safe and grateful.  Ranma 
noticed the look on her face and P-chan's disturbed behavior, as the little 
black piglet was pacing around and around on the floor.
	"What's wrong with you two and where did P-chan come from?" Ranma 
asked,
glaring at the pig. 
 "I heard that voice again.  And for your information, Ranma, I found P-chan 
on my way to the store," Akane replied.
	"Voice?  What voice?  Oh, that hallucination of yours in the middle 
of the night a while ago?  You're not seriously still hung up on that are 
you, Akane?  Gimme a break."
	"Hallucination?!  You wouldn't be calling it a �hallucination' if you 
had seen it, Ranma!"
	"Yeah, but I'm not an uncute tomboy who imagines things!"
	"Well at least I don't change sexes!" Akane retorted, splashing Ranma 
with cold water.
	Ranma opened his mouth to respond, but stopped.  "It's not my fault," 
he said sulkily before crossing his arms and glaring at Genma, who tried to 
avoid his son's wrath by dumping cold water on himself and playing with his 
tire.  "It's all your fault, old man!" Ranma exclaimed angrily, leaping at 
Genma.  "And don't play dumb with me!  You can't just change into a panda 
whenever you feel like avoiding responsibility!"
	Genma held up a sign and smiled innocently.  "Yes I can."
	"ARRRGGHH!!!" Ranma shouted, and boy and panda disappeared in a 
whirling
cloud of dust, fighting once again over the Jusenkyo curse.
	Akane rolled her eyes. 

*      *      *      *      *
	Akane was on her way home from school the next evening, having stayed 
late to study in the library with some friends.  She turned the corner and 
waved at one of the neighbors, Mrs. Watase, who smiled and waved back.  As 
she was passing the old woman, though, she heard her name called.  "Akane!"
	*Oh no, not again,* she thought, turning.  But it was only Mrs. 
Watase.
	"You dropped this, dear.  It's very pretty and I wouldn't want you to 
lose it.  You ought to leave it at home," she said kindly.
	Akane took the object in her hand.  It was the music box.  She 
thanked Mrs. Watase and continued towards her house, wondering warily how the 
box had shown up again but then she remembered shoving it in her backpack the 
day before.  She held the box in her hands when suddenly, it opened and 
again, like before, the music began to play.  Startled, she dropped the box 
on the ground and stepped back as a hazy light emerged from the box.  She 
gasped as the shadowy figure from two weeks ago again coalesced in front of 
her.
	"Akane..." it said.
	Akane looked around at the passersby, wondering why they didn't help 
her.  Didn't they see this ghost that threatened her?  Mrs. Watase...but Mrs. 
Watase had already gone inside.  Nobody around her was paying attention.  It 
was like they couldn't even see the apparition in front of her...
	"What do you want?" Akane said suspiciously.  "Who are you?"
	The figure continued materializing and this time it became real, 
standing in front of her, so closely that she could hear him breathing.  He 
wore robes that reminded her of royalty - ancient royalty - and she couldn't 
help thinking of some manga she had read a few months back.  His clothes were 
ornately decorated in purple, red, and gold accents, long and flowing, and 
his dark hair was pulled back from his face - the same beautiful face that 
had stared at her so imploringly before.  "You don't remember me?" he said.
	"I was there that day in Kyoto, when you were watching the cherry 
blossoms
with your mother.  Think, Akane...the little boy you met at the pond by the 
inn..."
	Akane looked at him cautiously but thought back to that day so long 
ago amidst the cherry blossoms...by the pond...and a little boy who seemed so 
curious about her...
	"Oh..." Akane gasped.  "You were that little boy..."
	"Yes, I was.  And you were so kind to me that day, Akane.  I will 
never forget your kindness," he said.  Then, seeing the puzzled look on her 
face, continued.  "You gave me insight into how others lived.  I had never 
been in the outside world before and you answered my questions and talked 
with me.  You were my first real friend..."
	"But...but...I still don't know your name...or where you come 
from...or anything about you..." Akane started.
	"My birth name is Miyamoto Seijikotei Takakazu.  But I would rather 
that you call me Tatsu.  It is what my friends call me and I hope that you 
and I shall be friends...again."  He noticed the uncertain look on Akane's 
face and smiled.  "Come, Akane.  Come with me to my palace and we can get to 
know each other better.  Perhaps I can ease some of your suspicions."
	Akane started backing up.  "G-go with you?"  She shook her head.  
"I-I have to be getting home.  I'm l-late already and they'll b-be expecting 
m-me."
	"Please, Akane.  Don't make excuses.  I wouldn't be here if you 
didn't want
me to be."
	"What do you mean?"
	"Come with me and I'll explain it to you."  He gestured towards the 
music box.  "Are you not curious as to what this box is all about?"
	"Y-yes..." Akane whispered.  Suddenly, they were enveloped in a great 
blue light.  Akane tried to scream but no sound came out.  A second later, 
both she and Tatsu had vanished and all that remained was the music box and a 
few scattered cherry blossoms that blew away in the wind.

***~~~end of Part I~~~***


Ok, just to reiterate, e-mail Akane18@furinkanhigh.com to send any C&C.

~Princess Hinomura Runa of the House of Jurai Royal Family
Oujosama to Oyobi!  Call me Princess!
(LunaHNeko@aol.com & Luna_Hinomura@planetjurai.com).

Ok, maybe just "Luna" will do...  ^_^