Subject: [FFML] Re: [C&C][fanfic][Ranma]Cinders, chapter 6
From: "Kevin D. Hammel" <kevinsff@pacbell.net>
Date: 12/26/2000, 11:43 PM
To: KaraOhki
CC: Fanfic Mailing List <ffml@fanfic.com>

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At last, another chapter of one of my favorite stories.

Thanks



Cinders



A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by June "KaraOhki" Geraci

karaohki@snet.net



December 23, 2000



Ranma 1/2 and its universe was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and belongs to

her.  This work of fiction was written for entertainment only, and is not

intended for commercial purposes.





Chapter 6



"Are you going to kiss her or not?"



Ranma froze, Nabiki's question ringing in his ears.  Kissing Akane when they

were alone was one thing.  Kissing her in front of her sisters and his

mother was another.  He was about to stammer out an excuse when the look on

his bride's face stopped him.



Hmmm... Might there be infectious ramifications?



"Well done, my son!  How manly you are!"



Well done, how... uh... Nodoka you are!



Nodoka's words and the twinkle in

hers eyes showed just how happy she was, and for a moment Ranma was sorry he

couldn't see his mother's smile behind the mask.



Bringing the mask in reminds us of just what the circumstances are.

It's the little things that make a story good.



...



The words "little brother" were enough to get Ranma's attention.  The

remainder of Nabiki's speech was enough to turn him into jelly.  Thankfully

for him, it didn't have that effect on Akane.



Sometimes circumstances can actually force Nabiki to grow up a bit.



...



*****



The little scene had effectively killed all conversation in the room, and

Kasumi soon came to the rescue.  She picked up a bag that she had set in a

corner of the room, and brought it to Ranma's tray table.



"We can't share this with you because of the masks, so I only made a little

one.  I wanted you to have a real wedding cake."



Unfortunately ANOTHER possible source of infection...



...



Nice scene, though.



*****



...



"Nabiki."



"Yes?"



"Thank you, sister."



for some reason, I like 'Thanks' instead of 'Thank you'

(from Ranma at least).



Nabiki's eyes opened wide, and Ranma could see that her composure was

disturbed, despite the mask that hid most of her face.  "No problem, little

brother.  I owed you."



OwED??? The word is *OWE*. That made up for maybe a couple of candid

photo shoots



*****



...



He stopped long enough to tell the secretary that his mother was seriously

ill and ran out of the building.  Unfortunately, Mr. Nakazawa didn't

remember the unprocessed marriage certificate until he was on the plane.



D@mn. One point, there is probably a phone on the plane he could

call the office to make sure the papers are filed. Until they are,

the marriage is unofficial.



*****



...



*****



Akane looked at herself in the mirror.  She looked a little thinner than

usual, and didn't like the dark circles under her eyes.  Her wedding outfit

was adorable, but the burns on her face spoiled it.  She wondered how the

pictures Nabiki had taken would come out.



The answer is simple... "Photoshop".



"She'll probably retouch them,"

she murmured.



I guess The idea wasn't JUST mine. Wedding photos ARE commonly

retouched, even in 'normal' circumstances.



"Did you call me?" asked Ranma from the other side of the door.



"No."



Akane put a hand to her face, gently touching the burns.  To her they were

the ugliest things on earth, but Ranma-Ranma looked at her as if the weren't



I presume the dash is intentional? (as a substitute for ellipsis,

perhaps?) Should it be set off by spaces?



there.  Now they were married-for real.  When night came, would Ranma

want...Akane couldn't take the thought any further.  Then she forced herself

to be honest.  She wanted Ranma, and from the way he looked at her, he felt

the same way about her.  How were they going to manage with their injuries?

Besides that, there was very little privacy in a place like a hospital.  The

brave front she'd put on with Nabiki had already crumbled.



with or for here?



...



"What?  You're not going to do my chest?"



"Well, I DON'T want you doing MINE, you... you..."



"Husband?"



...



*****



Ranma wasn't quite prepared for his reaction to Akane's hand on his chest.

His entire being was concentrated on her touch, and he had to exert

considerable self-control to keep his hands off her.  He was disappointed

when she finished and returned the medicine to him.



Akane's hands trembled as she handed the jar back to Ranma.  He grabbed the

jar before she could drop it and returned it to its place.



"Thank you."



Wow, that salve must have the GOOD stuff in it.



*****



...



He held her gently, avoiding the worst of the burns, and kissed her.

Akane's whole world turned over as the feelings Ranma's kiss caused combined

with her weariness and the light-headedness she was already experiencing

from the pain medication.



[Damn, not now,] she thought, then she passed out.



Can't comment except to say well done.



*****



...



Ranma got up and unlocked the door.  Then he got back into his bed and moved

over into Akane's bed, getting as close to her as he could.  Trying to touch

her only where it wouldn't hurt, he moved her into his arms, and watched her

go to sleep.  A few minutes later he was asleep himself.



Or this one.



*****



The door opened, and a young woman entered the room.  The skirt of her

nurse's uniform was a little shorter than hospital regulation allowed, she

wore her long hair in a ponytail, and a mask hid her face.  She closed the

door behind her and approached Akane, studying her intently. Her eyes

narrowed with anger when she realized that Ranma was not in his own bed, but

in Akane's, and that they were holding one another.  Even worse, Akane had

her cheek pillowed on Ranma's bare chest.



The hallways of the hospital rang with the echo of Kodachi's screech.



*****



...



"Infection?  But-"  Ryoga's question was interrupted by the sound of a

scream from within the room.  The pair dropped the gowns and masks, and flew

inside.



Talk about PERFECT timing.



*****



...



Kodachi tried to get up and in the process leaned on Akane, who burst into

tears.  That was too much for Ranma.  He sat up, knocked his water pitcher

onto himself and Akane, and threw Kodachi across the room.  She would have

impacted with the wall if Ryoga had not caught her.



All we need now is...



*****



Down the hall a young man carrying a bouquet of flowers was very

disappointed when the nurses informed him that he would not be permitted to

bring them into the room of the patients he was on his way to visit.



"Take them, then.  Such lovely ladies as yourselves deserve flowers."



Tatewaki.



Kuno left the flowers on the counter of the nurses' station and continued

down the hallway.  He was grateful that Nabiki had added his name to the

list of approved visitors, for he was quite worried about Akane's condition.

He was also concerned about Ranma, but seeing Akane was his first priority.

The sound of a scream coming from his destination made him start running.



[That was my sister!  Is Saotome molesting her?]



When it rains...



*****



One moment Kodachi was on the bed, the next moment she was flying through

the air.  She looked back, and saw something that made her scream again.

Her beloved Ranma was shrinking, changing into someone else.  Someone who

was quite familiar to her.



Finally, the light goes on.



[He told me.  My brother told me, and I didn't believe him.]  Those were her

last thoughts before she passed out.



*****



Ryoga saw Kodachi's body hurtling towards him, and reacted instinctively.

He caught her.  Unfortunately, her uniform, which was short enough to begin

with, had ridden up and he found himself in a very unfamiliar position as

far as women were concerned.  He had his hands somewhere they had never been

before, and his reaction was to collapse in a dead faint.  He never even

heard Kodachi's scream, or the arrival of yet another person in the room.



*****



"Don't cry, Akane."  Ranma pulled Akane into his arms, and suddenly realized

the two of them were soaking wet, and he was no longer male.  He let her go

and was reaching for a pajama top to cover himself



Is this RANMA? (but then he has grown up a bit in this story).

Nice touch to show how much.



when the door was nearly

torn from its hinges by the force of Kuno's entrance.



"Pig tailed-I mean-Ranma!  What is going on in here?"



"Do me a favor, Kuno.  Just be quiet until I can get Akane some help!  Your

sister hurt her!"



Ranma picked up the call button and pushed it before putting on a pajama

top.  Akane had curled herself into a fetal position and refused to look at

him.  Her sobs tore at his heart.



The room became much more crowded when two nurses, a security guard, and the

doctor came in.



"What is going on in here?" demanded the doctor.



The short answer: Ranma's life.



"She came back."  Ranma pointed to Kodachi as he spoke.  The girl was just

beginning to regain consciousness, and she looked in confusion at the face

of the young man who was holding her.



"How dare you!"



Ryoga opened one eye.  "Huh?"



"Well, it seems my sister has chosen another young man.  I approve!"



Bwa Ha Ha Ha !!! :^)



...



Ranma reached out with the arm that wasn't around Akane, and lifted the

doctor off the floor.  "You've gotta do something for her!"



"I'll see what we can do.  Could you put me down?"



The nurses returned with hot water, dry sheets, and clean pajamas.  Ranma

set the doctor back on his feet, and accepted the hot water.



"Don't 'see' what you can do.  Do it."



The doctor ran for his life.



wise man.



*****



...



"I'm not ready to leave, Mousse.  I need to go through my herbs to see what

I can bring with me that might help."



Mousse held out his hand.  "Use this."



Now WHAT could that be?



*****



Ryoga collapsed onto the grass and tried to catch his breath.  He hadn't

heard Kuno's voice behind him for a while now, and hopefully he'd outrun

him.



Once Ryoga felt better he looked up, trying to get his bearings.  He had

been in Nerima.  This was most definitely not Nerima.  The cows looking at

him were a pretty good indication of that.



"I think this is the first time I was ever glad I got lost!"



Nice bit.



*****



...



"I'll stay here.  Go to sleep."



no 'honey' 'hon' or 'sugar'?



*****



...



"No, but it's about time they got married."  Cologne shrugged.  "That's not

important right now.  I want to explain to you what I want to try. It's

risky, but from what you tell me you're run out of options."



One wonders WHAT she has in mind?



*****



...



*****



...



"No," said Cologne.  "I don't want you to interrupt me, and I want you and

Ranma to listen to me very carefully, because this is serious business."



Cologne let go of Akane's hands, and Akane took the opportunity to reach

over and hold onto her husband.  Whatever Cologne had to say, it was evident

that it wasn't going to be pleasant.



The audience is on pins and needles in anticipation.



*****



...



*****



...



Akane turned around and looked into Ranma's eyes.  She saw the anger, but

she also saw he fear that he was trying to hide.  "I don't know if I have a

choice," she said softly.  Then she turned back to the doctor.  "Tell me

everything."



NOW we'll finally...



------------



more to come



bu... but ...



thanks to everyone I drove insane prereading this, especially Fido, Robert

and Mage



Comments?  send to me at karaohki@snet.net or to all of us at ffml



Anyway, Thanks!





Kevin D. Hammel



========================================

khammel@mail.anime.sobhrach.com

kevinsff@pacbell.net

http://www.fanfic.net/~khammel/

========================================







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