Oops... Last post I forgot to say... "Characters
aren't mine, but I love them anyway."
P.S. I'm sorry about Akane.
The Man in the Mirror, Part 2
by Leloi
Two little bundles of energy came at him at once.
Each took a side and attacked. He easily dodged their
onslaught. Somewhere a timer rang out and he grabbed
one of the bundles of frustrated child. "Lunchtime,"
he announced to the little girl in his arms.
"Aw� Daddy� We were just getting it," Sakura
protested.
The father shook his head at his daughter. "Good
nutrition is just as important as exercise." Out of
the corner of his eye he saw the other bundle of raw
energy take the opportunity to attack. He caught the
boy easily and dropped him beside his sister. "That
goes for you too, young man," he said as he led the
children to the kitchen.
The father watched his children eat their lunch,
fascinated with their youthfulness. Both were very
smart and very strong. Their mother would be proud�
if she were alive. He closed his eyes to the pain.
It was still so fresh in his heart. He felt it
whenever he looked at his daughter� she took after her
mother in all ways. "Gods� Akane� Why did you have to
leave me?" he demanded of the memory in his head.
"Why do I have to raise them alone?" He opened his
eyes to see two little faces staring at him in
concern.
"Daddy� Are you all right?" Sakura asked.
"Fine� Blossom�" he replied with a pained smile. He
stood and gathered them in his arms. "Naptime."
"Aw� Dad, I'm too old for a nap," Makoto protested as
he wiggled out his father's embrace.
"Well� I want a nap, so you get one too," father
reasoned as he carried his daughter up the stairs with
his son following. He made sure both were safely
tucked into their beds and kissed tenderly.
On his way to his own bed he reached into his closet
and pulled out a red silk Chinese gown with a dragon
embroidered on the breast. He held it to his cheek
for a moment before he put it back in its place of
honor. He climbed into the bed and closed his eyes.
If it weren't for the children he would have followed
her. He wanted to follow her, but he had a duty to
stay and raise the babies she left behind.
Tears rolled down his cheeks. The years had been hard
without her. Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi had returned
to his life like vultures, each wanting to share his
bed. But he couldn't� his bed was already occupied by
his memories and a promise he made to himself years
ago.
He was a haunted man and the pain changed him.
Sometimes he thought of himself as the stranger in the
mirror� As if another man had taken over his life and
he was only a hollow shell of what he had once been.
"Who is Saotome Ranma?" he asked.
"He isn't himself anymore�" something answered. "He's
a stranger to his own life with two babies to raise."
* * *
Family and friends gathered in the dojo to pay their
final respects. Ranma couldn't watch. He wandered
out the door. He stood by the koi pond and stared
into its depths. The little pink bundle in his arms
stared up at him with trusting brown eyes. Everyone
told him that a funeral was no place for a baby, but
he didn't care. He held the newborn close to his
chest and wept onto the blanket.
"We were supposed to have a long, happy life
together," he whispered to the winds.
The baby cried, echoing his own sobs.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "No father
should see his child die," Soun said. "Why couldn't
you have stopped her from going out� She loved you."
Ranma glanced at Tendo-san. "I'm sorry� I�"
"Now this beautiful baby girl will never know how
wonderful her mother was," Soun cried. "How could you
let her die?" Soun reached for the baby but Ranma
pulled her away and held her against his chest.
"That's enough, Tendo-kun," Genma said. He turned to
his son. "I'm sorry about what I said about training
your son. I didn't know you would have so little time
with your wife."
Ranma felt a tender arm wrap around his shoulder. He
turned to see his mother. "Mom�" he cried on her
shoulder.
Nodoka helped support the tiny infant between them.
"My child� My precious child�" she whispered.
* * *
"Saotome-san?" a voice asked on the telephone.
"Hai?" Ranma replied.
"There has been an accident� I'm sorry, but your wife
was hit by a car downtown and�"
"No!" Ranma cried.
"She's asking for you� But�"
"Where? Where is she?" Ranma demanded.
The voice on the phone told him where to go.
He ran mindlessly to the hospital where he was
directed to Akane's room.
"Akane�" he cried.
Her listless eyes found his. "Ranma� I'm sorry."
"Hush now, you're going to be alright," he soothed
her. He had always been able to protect her. Why
should now be any different? He shouldn't have let
her go out alone� not in her third trimester.
"No� Ranma� Listen to me. You must take care of our
children."
"No�"
"I've lost too much blood� They say it's either the
baby or me�" Akane indicated her swollen belly.
"No, love� No�"
"I'll watch over you all�"
"No!" Ranma held his wife in his arms. "Stay with
me," he begged. "Please, stay with me."
"�Never leave you," Akane breathed.
"Akane!" Her name was torn from his soul. Monitors
beeping their warnings accompanied the cry. Medical
teams responded by pulling him away from her body.
"We need to save your child," one doctor barked a
little harshly.
Ranma watched in shock as the opened her body and
pulled out the infant. A newborn's wail pierced the
air. Minutes passed and a baby was placed in his
arms.
He kissed her little forehead as he stared out the
window. Cherry blossoms fell like snow. "Sakura�" he
whispered to the little one. "Saotome Sakura."
* * *
"I have a boy!" Ryouga raised his cup of sake.
"Congratulations to you and Akari, Ryouga-kun." Ranma
smiled.
"I've been thinking about what you and Akane offered
before. I would like to have my son marry your unborn
daughter," Ryouga said with a small smile at the
Saotomes.
Akane with her huge belly and Ranma smiled at each
other. "Then it is agreed," Ranma said as he raised
his sake cup. "To our children!"
"To our children!" Ryouga agreed.
"Why?" little Makoto asked.
Both men laughed at the boy. "Your new sister is
going to have a future husband."
"Wow!" the little boy said.
"How is your wife?" Akane asked Ryouga.
"She's fine, just fine. I saw her and the baby in the
hospital before I came over here."
"How wonderful� Maybe I should go out tomorrow and get
a little something for my future son-in-law," Akane
smiled.
"That would be swell, Akane-san," Ryouga laughed.
"Honey, I don't want you wandering around when you're
so close to your due date," Ranma said with sudden
concern.
"Oh hush, baka. Pregnant women have been wandering
around town in third trimesters since the dawn of
time," Akane smiled. "He doesn't let me do anything
fun when I'm expecting," she told Ryouga with a laugh.
"Besides, what will I do while he's teaching class?"
* * *
"SAOTOME RANMA!" growled a very angry Akane.
Ranma cringed at the use of his full name spoken in
such volume. His wife didn't do it very often
anymore, but when she did� "Yes dear?"
"You will NOT take our son on some stupid training
journey like your fool father did. Do I make myself
clear?" she asked.
"I never gave it much thought, honey. Pop was the one
who suggested it," Ranma said. It was true. Pop had
made some comment about little Makoto being the right
age to begin training away from his mother. Ranma
disagreed. He knew what life had been like without a
female influence. Besides, he didn't really want to
spend any time away from his wife. They had been only
married for a few years. He made that argument to
Pop.
"You've been married for seven years," Genma
corrected. "Your boy is five now� And you aren't
getting any younger, you know. When I was your age�
and in fact a year younger since you were conceived on
my wedding night� (Nodoka and I didn't waste a year
like you did in making a son) You and I were out in
the world. It's time to train the boy in the arts,"
Genma replied. "At least tell your wife about it."
"Tell me something, old man� Did your father have this
little talk with you when I was five?" Ranma asked.
"It's a family tradition that dates back since the
dawn of time. All Saotome men are taken from the
mothers at the tender age of five and raised to be the
best martial artists known to mankind."
"I'm not like you, Pop. I can't follow some stupid
tradition and take my son away from my wife. I have
responsibilities� a dojo to run... a family to take
care of�"
"You've become weak, boy," Genma growled.
"No� I'm stronger than you because I chose my own
path," Ranma replied as he walked away. He
immediately went to his wife, kissed her on the cheek
and told her what happened. She got emotional and
yelled at him.
"Besides," she concluded, "you will need to get to
know your other baby."
"My other baby?" Ranma asked, a little confused.
"I'm pregnant," Akane said with a small smile.
Ranma lifted his wife off the ground and twirled her
in a circle. "This is wonderful, my love� wonderful."
* * *
"Breathe!" Ranma encouraged.
"Shut up, Saotome! You did this to me." Akane
snapped. She gripped his hand and squeezed it as hard
as she could.
"That's it� Keep breathing." Ranma squeaked in pain.
"I don't want to breathe� I can't breathe�" Akane
cried. "Please don't make me breathe� Oh Gods!"
"That's it� push, Saotome-san," Tofu encouraged.
"Push!" Ranma chorused.
"Stop repeating what he just said� I'm not deaf you
idiot."
"One more push� Good girl," Tofu encouraged.
A newborn's cry filled the room.
"It's a boy."
"A boy!" Akane and Ranma smiled as an infant was
placed in Akane's arms.
Ranma kissed his wife. He was ecstatic.
* * *
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked as he stepped into the
dojo. His wife was sitting on the floor, crying.
"What happened?" he asked in concern as he kneeled
beside her.
"Ranma� Would you love me even if I was fat?" she
asked with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Is that all? I would love you no matter what� Why do
you ask?" Ranma asked as he combed his fingers through
her hair to get it out of her eyes. "You aren't
thinking of giving up your tomboyish figure, are you?"
he asked playfully.
Akane burst into a fresh batch of tears and threw
herself on the matted floor.
"I was only kidding," Ranma said helplessly as he
placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please tell me
what's wrong� Akane-chan?" he said in his sweetest
husband voice.
"I'm going to turn into a blimp and you'll look to
other women�"
"How can you say that?" Ranma gasped in shocked
disbelief. "After all we've been through how can you
say that? Honey, tell me what's wrong."
"I'm pregnant!" Akane wailed.
Ranma froze in shock. "P-p-pregnant?"
"I'm going to have your baby� What do you think of
that?" Akane cried. "I won't be able to help you in
the dojo�"
Ranma gathered his wife in his arms. "It's alright.
I can manage. Pregnant? Wow!" Ranma hugged his
bride. "I'm going to be a daddy," he smiled. "And
you are going to be a mommy." He gently rocked back
and forth with her. "Don't cry, Akane� Everything is
going to be fine. Smile for me," he whispered into
her hair.
"I've just been so emotional lately," she cried. "Of
course I'm happy."
"Let's go out and celebrate. Wear that pretty red
dress Mom gave you before you grow out of it."
"Ranma!" Akane cried as she playfully hit her husband.
Ranma smiled and kissed his wife. "I can't wait to
show of my pretty, pregnant wife."
* * *
(continued in Part 3)
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