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Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're
used here without permission.

This chapter contains a minor amount of explicit material.
Regardless, I've given it a [LEMON] tag.

------------------------------
newRanma 8: Dreaming

by Chris Jones
------------------------------

    "Ranma, wake up!"

    "Huh?" Ranma snapped awake, realizing that she had
fallen asleep. "What? Where?"

    "You're needed in surgery with Doctor Saotome,"
Nurse Akane said.

    Nurse Ranma glanced down at herself. She was wearing
a tight nurse's uniform and high-heeled shoes.

    "In surgery?" Nurse Ranma asked curiously. "What's
going on here? I was with Ryouga, and there was a fight
and..."

    "Doctor Saotome requested you specifically," Nurse
Akane said, pulling Ranma to her from the desk she had been
napping on. "We need to get you scrubbed-up and..."

    "Nurse Akane to X-Ray," Kasumi's voice called out
over the PA system. "Nurse Akane to X-Ray."

    "Get to surgery!" Nurse Akane yelled, running off in
another direction.

    "But--"

    "This way," Doctor Kuonji said, grabbing Nurse
Ranma's arm.

    "Ucchan? What's going on here?" Nurse Ranma demanded
angrily.

    "Oh, it's Ucchan now?" the doctor asked, a grin on
her face. "Really, Nurse. I'm glad to see you're loosening
up. Maybe I have a chance to steal you away from Doctor
Saotome?"

    Reeling from oddness and the unusual surroundings,
Ranma did her best to make sense of her surroundings. It
wasn't until she heard the familiar, tacky music playing in
the background that she realized what was going on.

    "I'm in 'Nurse Academy'. Wonderful."

    "What?" Doctor Kuonji asked.

    "Never mind. I'm needed in surgery?"

    "Yes, and after that, there's the big luncheon."
Doctor Kuonji said, clenching her fist by her side. "Haha!
Finally, I will reveal my secret to everyone!"

    "Oh, geez. This is gonna be really stupid, ain't
it?" Ranma lamented.

* * *

    Doctor Saotome had a rakish grin, broad pectoral
muscles that could be seen even under his smock, and a
pigtail that protruded from the back of his surgical cap.

    Nurse Ranma was pretty sure that he was making eyes
at her. She was also pretty sure that he was playing footsie
with Nurse Nabiki under the operating table. She knew for a
fact that she had seen him grab Doctor Kuonji's butt as the
other physician walked by.

    "Scalpel," Doctor Saotome said.

    Nurse Nabiki gently placed one in his hands, taking
a few extra seconds to let her fingers linger against his.

    "I'll charge you for that later, Doctor," she said.

    "I'll be ready," Doctor Saotome said in a suave
tone, winking wickedly at the nurse.

    "I'm certain you'll be... up... to the task," Nurse
Nabiki responded.

    Nurse Ranma sighed as Doctor Saotome went back to
making eyes at her. God, what a playboy.

    Just then, Mikado Sanzenin burst into the operating
room, an accusing finger pointed at Doctor Saotome.

    "Why are you operating on this patient?" he
demanded.

    "Because I'm the only doctor in this hospital that
can perform a triple spleen conflaguration," the pigtailed
surgeon responded. "Eh, Soun, old boy? If you feel up to the
task..."

    "Soun?" Nurse Ranma asked in confusion. "Isn't Soun
Tendou... older? And didn't he have a moustache?"

    "Administrator Tendou was replaced last season by
this actor to boost ratings," Nurse Nabiki explained.
"Personally, I think he's quite a bit more attractive, don't
you?"

    "Something like that," Nurse Ranma noted, a scowl on
her face.

    "This patient has no insurance!" Administrator
Sanzenin said angrily. "I won't have a loose cannon like you
making decisions like this, Saotome."

    "Don't tell me about, 'Loose Cannons', Soun. Or I
could tell everyone about... Nurse Akane," Doctor Saotome
threatened.

    Administrator Sanzenin's face paled. He shuddered
away from Doctor Saotome's steady gaze.

    "What about Nurse Akane?" Ranma asked.

    "You promised you would keep quiet about that,"
Administrator Sanzenin accused.

    "And I will continue to keep quiet," Doctor Saotome
said. "Unless you interfere again."

    Administrator Sanzenin glared darkly at Doctor Ranma
before he turned and strode out of the OR.

    "Shouldn't he have been in scrubs or something?"
Nurse Ranma asked.

    "Now don't you worry about that," Doctor Kuonji
said, her hand on Ranma's leg, and slowly sliding up.

    "YIPE!"

    * * *

Interlude:

    "Japanese male, age seventeen. Name, Ryouga Hibiki.
He was stabbed this afternoon during a martial arts duel. I
think all we're dealing with here is a lacerated bowel, but
X-ray indicates that it's also possible that his left kidney
was nicked as well. We'll evaluate as we go."

    "Understood, Sensei," another doctor replied. "We've
already administered two pints of A positive."

    "Blood pressure is 125 over 78 and steady," a nurse
commented. "Sinus rhythms appear normal."

    "Let's open... here," The doctor said, making a
short mark on Ryouga's back with a felt-tip pen. "Tofuu, why
is my patient handcuffed to the table?" she asked.

    Tofuu cleared his throat as he was tying on his
mask. "I don't want him wandering off. This is boy I told
you about. The one with no sense of direction."

    "Ah... you weren't kidding then. Okay, everyone keep
an eye out for his sense of direction. I'll try not to drop
it on the floor."

    "His sense of direction is out in the waiting room,"
Tofuu noted, grimacing at the surgeon's joke. "She's eight
years old and has *nowhere* else to go."

    "Tofuu," the surgeon said, placing her gloved hand
on his shoulder. She looked into his eyes with amusement.
"I'm the trauma surgeon. You're the chiropractor. Lighten
up, okay?"

    "Yes, Hashi," Tofuu said, calming a bit.

    "But, Tofuu is right," the surgeon announced in a
more business-like tone to the rest of the nurses and
doctors in the room. "No mistakes, people. This is serious,
but it shouldn't be a fatal injury. Let's not turn it in to
one."

    * * *

    Nurse Ranma had been horrified to learn that Doctor
Saotome, despite his advances towards her, seemed to already
be banging the entire cast of the show. Although she
couldn't be sure, in the few hours she had been working in
the hospital she had heard enough anecdotal evidence to lead
her to belive that Doctor Saotome was sleeping with Nurse
Nabiki, Nurse Shampoo, and Doctor Kuonji. From what she had
heard, the licentious doctor was also looking to add Nurse
Akane to his harem, but unfortunately for him and
fortunately for Nurse Ranma's stomach, Nurse Akane wasn't
that kind of girl.

    She had heard it hinted, however, that Nurse Akane
had some dark secret in her past that both Doctor Saotome
and Hospital Administrator Mikado Sanz-- er... Soun Tendou
knew about. She could only guess that the lecherous Doctor
Saotome was planning to use the information to blackmail
Akane and force his attentions on her whether she wanted
them or not.

    Ranma sighed in frustration as she wheeled the
specimen cart down the hallway. She couldn't let Doctor
Saotome have Akane! Akane was in love with Doctor Tofuu, and
even though the staff chiropractor was in love with Nurse
Kasumi, who was in turn in love with Hospital Administrator
Sanze-- uh... Tendou, Ranma felt a duty to Nurse Akane to
protect her.

    "Have the preparations been made, Mousse?"
Administrator Mikado asked from the door of his office as
Doctor Mousse and Nurse Ranma crossed paths in the hallway.

    "Of course they have!" Doctor Mousse responded,
adjusting his thick spectacles. "Everything is in place so
that I can steal Nurse Shampoo away from Saotome! Once I
have her, then you and I can split her family's fortune
between us."

    "Not here!" Mikado cautioned, glancing at Nurse
Ranma. "There are ears everywhere, Mousse."

    "Understood!"

    Ranma rolled her eyes. Everyone was acting like they
were trapped in some kind of soap opera.

    "Heheheh..." Administrator Mikado chuckled as Mousse
walked away. "Of course only I suspect anything about Nurse
Shampoo's plans to do away with the other nurses."

    "What did you say?" Nurse Ranma asked curiously. "Do
away with..."

    "Nothing!" Mikado shouted, darting back into his
office. "You'll pay, Saotome!" he swore from inside. "You'll
all pay!"

    Nurse Ranma shook her head sadly. Still, it didn't
concern her. At least she hoped that it didn't concern her.

    She wheeled the cart full of specimens down another
hall and into a laboratory, where Doctor Gosunkuji took it
off her hands, and began to initial all the required
paperwork.

    "If you would," the pale, timid doctor asked once
they were finished, "Please go see Groundskeeper Genma. He
needed to see you about something, if I remember correctly."

    What on earth would Genma need to see her for, Ranma
wondered.

    She managed to track down the gardener in the
hospital's arboretum. To her surprise, Groundskeeper Genma
wasn't a portly, bald individual, but a tall man with a
regal bearing and noble face. He had short, immaculate hair,
and a dazzling smile. Ranma couldn't help but think that the
man looked out of place in the worn overalls he was wearing.

    When he saw her enter the arboretum, he smiled in
rapture and sheathed the plant shears at his side like a
sword. Before she could protest, he swept her up into his
arms and embraced her.

    "Oh, my pigtailed angel of mercy, you came!"

    "Ku-ku-ku-Genma?" Ranma asked in shock. "Uhh...
Doctor Gosunkuji said you needed to see me."

    Kun-- er... Genma's expression darkened and turned
serious. Still holding Ranma close to his broad chest, he
glanced around.

    Ranma realized that this actor must have been
replaced for reasons of age and ratings as well.

    "This way," the grounds-keeper said, leading Ranma
by the wrist.

    He took her into the gardening shed, but once
inside, he hung his gardening shears on a pegboard. The hook
shifted down under the weight, and the floor of the shed
began to descend. Ranma and Kunou both had to duck as a
false floor slid into place over their heads.

    When the secret elevator stopped, the pair was
surrounded by high-tech, yet cheesy looking electronic
equipment.

    "What is this place?" Ranma asked, half in
curiosity, half in dread.

    "This is where I conduct surveillance on the
hospital for the Ministry of Intelligence," the
groundskeeper admitted. "Every surgery, every treatment,
every conversation. It all comes through here. No one else
would ever be permitted to have this knowledge, but I feel I
can trust you now," he said, letting his hand close on her
waist.

    Ranma tried to back away from the man's advances,
but her legs seemed not to want to work.

    "Ku-- Genma..." she said, her head spinning.

    The groundskeeper wrapped his other strong arm
around her back. She could feel his hot breath on her neck
as he leaned over her. "I trust you, Ranma. I trust you
enough to risk it all..."

    Ranma gulped and tried to ignore the way she was
trembling or the way her heart was pounding. "Kunou,
please... Let me go. I'm not sure about this," she finally
managed to squeak out.

    The groundskeeper nodded. "Come back when you are
ready. In the meantime, remember, what you have seen here
must remain secret."

    Ranma nodded, and ran for the elevator.

    "GAH! What's happening to me," she cried out loud
once she was out of the arboretum. "That shouldn't have
happened. I'm a guy, right? RIGHT!?"

* * *

Interlude:

    "Ah, I think we've found the bleeder," Doctor Hashi
noted. "Suction, please."

    Tofuu did his best to stay out of the surgeons'
ways, yet still keep an eye on Ryouga. His color was good
but the boy's blood pressure was fluctuating in a worrying
manner. The chiropractor was nervously optimistic because
his patient was usually so healthy.

    "Oh, oh damn," Hashi muttered.

    "His kidney?" Tofuu guessed, cautious optimism
falling away in favor of dread.

    "Yup. It's worse than x-ray indicated. It looks like
the knife blade actually penetrated here, near the hillius,
and nicked the major renal vein. It's a clean cut, really,
but he's bleeding like a stuck pig. Let's set up another
unit of whole blood, please."

    "Hai, Sensei," a resident surgeon answered her,
gesturing to a nurse to aid him.

    "If the artery was cut, he'd be dead by now. It
looks like the renal nerve may have been damaged too. He
might lose the kidney, Tofuu." Hashi admitted.

    Tofuu nodded, sweat popping out on his brow.

    Hashi paused for a second and began to think
carefully. "That's gonna... No." She swore under her breath.
"We can do this. It shouldn't even need a graft."

    "Are you sure?" Tofuu asked the surgeon.

    "I hope so. Stop bleeding, kid," she
commanded."Don't you *dare* bleed to death on me."

* * *

    Ranma screamed inside her own head. The worst part
of it was... the most horrible part of it was the fact that
part of her wanted to stay and let Kunou do... whatever he
was going to do to her.

    Doing her best to stay focused, she ran into the
hospital's cafeteria, where she ran into Shampoo, who was
pouring an interesting looking powder into several drinks.

    "Aiyah! Nurse Ranma no frighten Shampoo like that!"

    "I'm sorry," Ranma said, trying to help Nurse
Shampoo to her feet. She kept slipping on the spilled drink
Shampoo had been holding.

    "No you not. You just like torment Shampoo. Everyone
know you and Nurse Akane keep handsome Doctor Saotome from
being only with Shampoo, who is rightful bride."

    "We do not!" Ranma said in denial. "If anything,
it's you and Nabiki who... wait. Why am I even arguing about
this? I'm Ranma Saotome, not that crazy, perverted guy!"

    "You just stupid nurse," Shampoo said, advancing on
the girl, a thin, stiletto blade held out before her.

    "No! That's..."

    Ranma's vision flashed. She saw Mousse drive that
same dagger into Ryouga's side. It came away, and all
Ryouga's blood began to run down his side.

    "Put the knife away, Shampoo," Ranma commanded in a
shaky voice.

    "Shampoo put Ranma out of her misery, instead,"
Shampoo said in a low, dangerous tone.

    Ranma had no choice but to run. Her attempted
poisoning failed, Shampoo was determined to take Ranma out
of the picture. She pursued the other nurse through endless
hallways, until Ranma ducked inside a laboratory.

    "Whew... I can't believe that--"

    "Ranma?" Akane shouted. "Oh no!"

    "Would you care to... heheh... join us, Nurse
Ranma?"

    Ranma turned around, and froze in shock.

    They sure didn't have scenes like *this* on
television!

    Doctor Saotome had Nurse Akane propped up on one of
the lab tables, her back to Ranma. Her short nurse's uniform
had been hiked up around her waist, displaying her bare ass.
She was supporting herself with her hands, while her ankles
were hooked over Doctor Saotome's shoulders.

    Akane's face was red with embarrassment and shame.
Ranma felt her eyes begin to burn and wetness start to
course down her cheeks.

    Doctor Saotome was leering crudely at Ranma. His
trousers were missing and he was leaning up against Nurse
Akane's nether regions in a way that made it absolutely
clear what he was doing to her.

    "You can be next, Nurse Ranma," Doctor Saotome
offered.

    "No... Akane," Ranma whispered. "Why? I thought you
loved someone else."

    "I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane whimpered. She cried out
as Doctor Saotome began forcefully thrusting against her.
"He threatened to tell everyone my secret if I didn't submit
to him."

    "No! Akane!" Ranma screamed, tears freely streaming
down his face. "You didn't have to do this. You had me! Why
did you let him do this to you?"

    "Please, Ranma," Akane cried. "Please don't make it
harder than it already is."

    "NO!" Ranma yelled, but found herself backing away
from the obscenity. "No! This isn't happening. It's just a
dream!"

    "Of course it's a dream, Ran-chan," Doctor Kuonji
said, grabbing Ranma from behind. "It's my dream come true.
Now you're all mine!"

    "What?" Ranma yelled feeling Doctor Kuonji's naked
body pressing into hers. She shuddered, and stared  ahead in
horror, realizing that the hard shaft that pressed into her
back indicated that it was a man's body.

    "This isn't real," Ranma protested, trying to wrench
away from the cross-dressing doctor. "Ucchan is a girl!
Besides, I thought you were sleeping with him," she said,
jerking her head in Doctor Saotome's direction.

    "Girl, boy, what's the difference?" Doctor Saotome
asked, leaning away from Nurse Akane. He roughly flipped her
over on the table and spread her legs with his knees. He
leaned in again, taking Nurse Akane from behind.

    "Ah... Ah... Ah... Doctor... Oooooh..." Akane
moaned, clutching at the table.

    "Now, Nurse," Doctor Kuonji stated in a professional
tone as Ranma stared in horror at the sight in front of her.
"If you'll just allow me to remove your dress, we can begin
the examination."

    "NO!" Ranma screamed. She twisted free of Tofuu's
grasp and leapt into the fight before Mousse could stab
Ryouga again. She was too late. Mousse's blade sunk into
Ryouga's side. Blood sprayed all over, pouring out in a
great fountain. Ryouga fell to his knees, dying.

    Ranma was lying on her face, across from Akane.
Doctor Kuonji was holding her hands behind her back, and
lifting her skirt up. Ranma cried out as Doctor Kuonji
pulled her panties down, but was unable to struggle free.

    She finally jerked free of Doctor Kuonji's grasp
before his long, blade-like phallus sank into her. She
twisted and kicked the doctor's chin, but he shrugged the
blow off and advanced on Ranma.

    She turned, horrified to see Akane's discarded,
bloody body on the floor, her lifeless eyes staring blankly
up at Ranma. Doctor Saotome, now completely unclad like
Kuonji, advanced on her.

    "I've wanted you for a long time, Ranma," he said in
a threatening tone.

    "It won't hurt at all," Doctor Kuonji promised.
"Give me your body, Ranma."

    "NO!" Ranma screamed, clutching her arms in front of
her face. "NO!!"

    "NO!!"

    "NO!!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

    "I'll save you, Ranma," a calm voice said.

    It was Ryouga. He smiled softly and held out his
hand to her.

    Ranma grabbed his hand and leaned into his embrace.
"You're alive!" she said as the rest of the world shattered
around them.

    Doctor Saotome and Doctor Kuonji were gone, replaced
by the cool night and the Tendou's back yard.

    "I'll always save you, Ranma," Ryouga said, holding
her close to him.

    Ranma inhaled, savoring the man's scent, and
delighting in the feel of his broad, muscular chest. She
wrapped her arms around his back. Since he was wearing only
his boxers, just like the night before, Ranma could feel
every inch of his flesh. She could feel the muscles bunch
and coil under her hands.

    He leaned in, dropping his lips to meet hers.

    She brought her face up to meet his, afraid, for
some reason. She could feel everything around her trying to
take him away from her. She kissed him passionately, trying
to hold him there with her mouth and her arms.

    "Please don't leave me, Ryouga," Ranma pleaded in a
whisper voice. "Please stay with me."

    "I'll always be here for you, Ranma," Ryouga assured
her. He lowered his arms, and gently lifted her. He kneeled
and set her down on the cool grass next to the koi pond.

    And then her hands were all over him, touching his
chest, touching his face. Ryouga's hands were all over her,
pulling her Chinese tang off over her head, sliding her
panties down over her hips and knees.

    Ranma wrapped her arms around his face and pulled
him in. She worked her mouth against his, thrusting her
tongue inside.

    Ryouga's hands were on her thighs, she realized. He
was lifting them, and spreading them apart. And then he
pushed himself inside her.

    Wasn't it supposed to hurt, Ranma thought to
herself. Was it supposed to feel this wonderful?

    "Don't die, Ryouga," she pleaded as she brought her
knees up and wrapped her ankles behind the boy's back.
"Please don't leave me," she begged, feeling the rushing
pleasure as he began to buck up and down.

    Ryouga answered her with a kiss as his powerful
motions crushed the grass beneath her.

    Ranma felt the wave of pleasure coming before ever
it hit...

    * * *

    "RYOUGA!!" Ranma screamed, bolting upright on the
cot where she had been sleeping.

    Akane jerked awake. She had dozed off in the small
examination room, waiting for Ranma to reawaken, or for news
from Ryouga's surgery.

    Nodoka was already leaning over her child, who was
visibly shaking. "Ranma, are you okay? Ranma-chan?"

    "Oh god," Ranma whimpered, coming awake. "Oh god.
Ryouga's dead. And... And..." The memories of what she had
just dreamt assailed her.

    "No, Ranma. He's alive," Akane assured her. "He's in
surgery right now. He'll live. Doctor Tofuu said he would
live."

    "He very nearly didn't, but the surgeon who operated
on him is very talented," Tofuu said, stepping into the
room. He was still wearing scrubs. "But yes, Ryouga is alive
and well. He's on his way to recovery right now. I see
you're finally awake, Ranma."

    Ranma was sobbing into her hands. "Oh, god. Oh,
god..."

    "Ranma what's wrong?" Akane asked.

    "Ryouga, was there... and Mousse... and all the
blood... and..."

    "Ryouga's okay, Ranma," Tofuu said, pulling out a
small scope to examine the girl's pupils. "He's probably
already coming out of anaesthesia."

    "Ryouga's okay?" Ranma asked, tears of mixed and
confused emotion still rolling down her face.

    Tofuu nodded.

    "Where?"

    Tofuu led Ranma and Akane out of the examination
room and up the elevator to a recovery ward on the second
floor of the hospital. Akane made Ranma stop so that she
could wipe the red-head's face with a tissue.

    "What's wrong with her, Doctor Tofuu?" Akane asked
as Ranma ran across the ward.

    "Probably just a bad dream," Tofuu said. "The
pressure point Ambassador Soap used to knock her out
stimulates dreaming. After what she had just seen, I can
only imagine the nightmares she could have had."

    Ranma found the door next to which the lost boy's
medical chart was hanging. She poked her head inside to see
Yoiko sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed. The
little girl looked up and smiled.

    Ranma took a few more hesitant steps inside.

    Ryouga was laying on the bed, propped up slightly.
His face was a little pale, but he looked peaceful. An EKG
next to him beeped a regular, reassuring tone.

    As Ranma approached the bed, still trembling, Ryouga
opened one eye.

    "You were right, Ranma," he rasped in a weak voice.
"I won."

    Ranma nodded, and burst into tears again. She buried
her face in the sheet covering Ryouga's chest and started to
cry.

    * * *

    After the trauma surgeon bullied Ranma and everyone
else out of the room, Akane, Yoiko and Tofuu explained what
had happened to her and Ryouga.

    Yoiko, upset that Ranma had predicted that Mousse
and Ryouga would kill each other, made the hard decision to
abandon her brother and seek help. She remembered the
address from the paper Cologne had given Ranma the previous
day.

    The address turned out to be the Chinese Embassy,
and the room number listed was the personal suite belonging
to the People's Ambassador to Japan.

    It turned out that Ambassador Soap had been
expecting something similar, since her grandmother had
warned her the previous day.

    "Wait a second," Ranma asked in surprise. "Shampoo's
*mom* is the Chinese Ambassador?"

    Akane nodded. "It was a surprise to all of us,
Especially Shampoo, since she thought her mother didn't know
she was in Japan. I understand that both she and Mousse are
in a lot of trouble right now."

    "That's messed up," Ranma commented.

    Soap was indeed an Amazon, but had left the tribe in
favor of a political life. It was her Amazon skill with
pressure points that allowed her to end the fight before
Ryouga was forced to kill Mousse and also to keep Ranma from
getting involved in the bloodshed. She had already summoned
two ambulances that took everyone to the hospital.

    Since he had no serious injuries, Mousse was treated
from his scrapes and bruises, checked out, and released into
the custody of the Ambassador. Soap took Shampoo and Mousse
back to the embassy with her, Mousse under heavy guard.

    Ryouga's injuries were severe enough to land him in
trauma surgery. It seemed that Mousse's dagger sliced open
his intestine and damaged one of his kidneys. The trauma
surgeon, Doctor Hashi, as she introduced herself, managed to
stop the bleeding and save Ryouga's kidney.

    "Now, I want to know why you woke up screaming
Ryouga's name," Akane said. "Did you have a nightmare or
something."

    "Yeah," Ranma said, trying to forget the echoes of
what she felt in the dream. "A nightmare."

* * *

    Despite the seriousness of the surgery, Ryouga was a
quick healer, and was on his feet only a few days later.
Kasumi played surrogate big-sister to Yoiko the entire time
he was in the hospital. Ranma noted that Kasumi seemed to
enjoy spending time with the little girl and Yoiko enjoyed
all the gentle mothering, and even learned to not struggle
so much while being bathed.

    It was the second day after Ryouga had been released
from the hospital that Yoiko knocked on Akane's door while
she and Ranma were studying.

    She was carrying P-chan.

    "My baby!" Akane cooed, reaching out her arms.

    In panic, Ranma closely examined the piglet to see
if he was suffering or bleeding from his wounds after
changing. Yoiko seemed to be very carefully holding her hand
over his back, hiding the sutures.

    "I'm sorry, Abby, but he's my piglet. Oniichan told
me you adopted him."

    Akane blinked, and stared at the pair.

    Did Yoiko know? Ranma did her best to calm her
breathing and her pounding heart.

    "He's... yours?" Akane asked in shock.

    "I'm sorry. He's always getting lost, just like my
oniichan," Yoiko half-lied. "And I was so busy looking for
my oniichan, that I guess he found you instead of me pretty
often. I'm glad you took such good care of him."

    Akane gulped, tears coming to her eyes.

    P-chan bweed sadly, but made no effort to leave
Yoiko's embrace.

    "I think he cares a lot about you," Yoiko said. "But
I want to take him home to be with Oniichan while he
recovers."

    "I... I understand," Akane said in a broken-up
voice.

    Ranma watched the scene unfold before her with a
neutral expression.

    "I already sent my oniichan home in a cab," Yoiko
said, mangling the truth somewhat, "but he asked me to say
something to you before I left."

    Akane nodded, wiping her eyes on the hem of her
skirt.

    Yoiko gulped and P-chan looked almost terrified. "My
oniichan said that he had a crush on you for a long time,
and that he still really cares about you."

    Akane nodded seriously. "I thought that he might
have. I was never really sure."

    "He also said that he did some dishonorable things
to try to be with you."

    Akane blinked in surprise.

    "He deceived you, and forced Rainbow to lie to you.
My oniichan says he's very sorry, and that he'll try his
best never to let those things happen again. He says that it
was not Randy's fault that he lied to you, and to please
forgive her."

    Akane looked stunned. She glanced at Ranma once.

    Ranma nodded.

    "Thank you for letting me and my Oniichan stay here
so long," the little girl said before she left. "Oh, one
last thing. As soon as you both get better, my Oniichan says
he wants to fight you in a duel to the death, Raoul."

    Ranma smiled and laughed out loud. "You can tell
your Oniichan," she said, staring directly at P-chan, "That
I'll kick his ass from here to Jusenkyou!"

    Yoiko smiled, and left.

    "You lied to me?" Akane asked, her voice full of
sadness. "Ryouga forced you to lie to me?"

    "Yeah." Ranma felt like a ten ton weight had just
been lifted from her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Akane."

    "That's why you were fighting all the time, wasn't
it?" Akane realized. "You were... you were fighting over
me."

    "Why would I want to..." Ranma paused and exhaled.
"Yeah. Yeah, we were kinda fighting... fighting over you."

    "Oh, Ranma!" Akane's eyes teared over, and she
buried her face in Ranma's shirt.

    Ranma felt the weight replaced by a new nervousness.
What had she just let herself in for?

    More importantly, Ranma thought to herself as she
tried to figure out what to do with Akane, when would the
dreams stop?

-----

~to be continued...

This chapter and the one before it are both dedicated to
everyone who thinks I give Ryouga a hard time. ^_^
* * *
C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net
http://www.furinkan.net

2001 - "My God, It's full of stars!"


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