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Heart and Soul

A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction.

Disclaimer: Takahashi owns the paints, I use my own easel.


Nabiki shuddered against the cold, pulling her coat about her tighter.
The chill wind whipped around her, sending the trailing straps from her
climbing gear flapping around. She stumbled for a moment, as one
half-numbed hand slipped, and she dropped her mattock.

Shivering, she slid her mitten back on, turning to look down the slope
behind her. The hood of her parka obscured her field of vision, as the
thick brown strands of the lining fluttered in the wind.

All around was an expanse of featureless white, broken only in the
distance by occasional rocks, and further away, distant brown smudges.
Only last week those smudges had been where she had griped to Ranma and
Tofu about the heat. Ranma had simply stared into her eyes impassively,
not showing any reaction, while Tofu shrugged and bore it.

Once her mitten was back on, and warmth began to seep back into her
hand, she glanced back up the slope they were traversing. A giant slab
of white snow on the side of the mountain. It wasn't much of a mountain,
really. More like a big hill.

The slope wasn't steep, but it was a good distance to the point Ranma
had declared that he was going to, and the Tendo girl found herself
wishing she had studied the martial arts more closely. Or at least
practiced more than just flexibility.

She paused for a moment, waiting for Tofu to notice her. After a moment
he did, and turned around slowly. His own form was wrapped in dark,
thick woolens, making him look like a native guide. Nabiki almost
laughed at the image of Tofu as a sherpa, herself the explorer... but
the humor of the situation drained quickly when Ranma stepped out from
behind Tofu, his face calm and composed.

Nabiki shivered again, partially from the air, but mostly because of
Ranma. He wore nothing more than his standard Chinese clothing, while a
subtle lambent aura seeped from beneath the faded silk. His blue eyes
were hardened, cerulean spheres of ice that lit upon Nabiki briefly,
turned to Tofu, then looked away again. He gazed up towards the peak of
the mountain, then shook his head.

Tofu turned to look at Ranma, warily stepping back. The pigtailed boy
sighed, seemingly untouched by the frigid surroundings. "She's near.
We'll rest here. Tomorrow, then." He nodded decisively, then sank to the
lotus position. "You two require sleep."

Nabiki shuddered, then shrugged off her pack, eager to have the tent set
up, and the chance to huddle for warmth. For heat, she would have been
willing to curl up with Kuno, at this point.

Tofu removed his own pack, rummaged around for a bit, then removed his
mittens, revealing thin gloves beneath. His eyes met Nabiki's for a
moment, and she saw a hint of sadness, and loss in them, before he
turned back to the task of setting up the tent.

Chastising herself for her lapse in attention, Nabiki approached, and
held down the tent while Tofu staked it in place. The wind had stilled
suddenly, and she opened her mouth to ask about it, but Tofu interrupted
her with a shake of his head. She paled, and nodded, shooting a glance
towards where Ranma meditated in the snow.

Loose flakes swirled about in the wind that seemed not to touch the pair
of climbers, gradually spiraling towards Ranma, then flitting away. Tofu
studiously avoided looking at Ranma, though Nabiki shot the occasional
peek towards him nervously.

Once the tent was erected, Tofu held it open while Nabiki scrambled in,
joining her after a moment of hesitation. Nabiki sealed the tent after
Tofu, then shrugged out of her outer clothing and squirmed her way into
her sleeping bag. Tofu smiled faintly, then encased himself in his own
protective layer of warmth.

Nabiki shivered again at the memories. After a moment, she opened her
eyes, and turned towards Tofu. "Is... what's going to happen?"

Tofu frowned, his face betraying none of the emotion it had in Ranma's
presence. "I don't know, Nabiki. I'm worried, and... I'm afraid. I'll
tell you that much. Tomorrow, we'll see if he can..." He trailed off,
turning to face the roof of the tent moodily.

Nabiki winced, then muffled a whimper. "He... he's going to save her,
right?" There was no reason to name him. "He's always saved her before,
right?" There was no reason to name her, either.

Tofu sighed, closing his eyes. "I hope so, Nabiki." But they were words
Nabiki didn't want to hear, then. The thought of losing her sister sent
a hot pain shooting through her gut. "I hope so."

***

Ranma had become detached, seeming indifferent once the entire ordeal
had begun. He spent more and more time in the soul of ice, and less time
being himself. He explained, in his cold, dispassionate way, that he had
to do it. He needed to be ready.

The others had finally come to accept it, knowing they couldn't quite
understand what drove him... or _her_ for that matter.

***

Nabiki sighed against the light that woke her, illuminating one wall of
the tent, and alerting her that the time of warmth and comfort was at an
end for the moment. Tofu was laying near her, staring at the ceiling
silently.

She licked her lips nervously, then sighed. "Morning, Tofu."

He shot a glance towards her, expression grave, then sat up. "Morning
indeed... today..." He frowned, trailing off, then shook his head. "We'd
better eat, and hurry on our way."

Nabiki nodded. "Ranma might get impatient."

Tofu shook his head, rummaging though a bag. "I doubt he's got the
capacity at this point."

Nabiki lowered her head and sighed. "Right. Do you think he's hungry?"

The older man looked up and stared at her for a moment, seeming
surprised, then shrugged, turning back to the bag he was rifling
through. "I doubt it."

The middle Tendo sister frowned. "Isn't it traditional to leave them
offerings?"

"Ranma's neither dead, nor a kami." Tofu's tone seemed terse, and Nabiki
wisely kept her mouth in check until their trail rations were finished.

Once they were done, she took a last piece of hard biscuit out, dressed,
and waited for Tofu.

The man re-packed everything with expertise, and in short order,
re-dressed. The two took a few quick, shallow breaths, bracing
themselves for the biting cold that would be waiting them outside.

It wasn't enough.

The chill of the afternoon before was nothing compared to the blinding,
near-arctic air that assaulted them when they exited the tent. A thin
layer of ice crusted the exterior of the tent, despite the warmth it had
held inside.

Tofu eyed it for a moment, then shook his head and decided to leave it.
One way or another, they wouldn't need to take it with them.

Nabiki drew in a sharp breath, coughing as the freezing air invaded her
lungs, then gasped, provoking another coughing fit.

Tofu raised his mattock defensively, and spun, then relaxed. "Calm down,
Nabiki. It's just Ranma."

Nabiki shivered, then nodded decisively. Slipping off her mitten, she
pulled the biscuit out of a pocket, and approached Ranma.

The pigtailed martial artist was sitting on a low pedestal carved out of
compressed snow. Ice had formed near him, thin, serpent-like strands
writhing in a ring about him, then ascending in a spiral.

He stared at a blue column of ice that jutted through the frozen strands
around him contemplatively. Nabiki swallowed, and as Ranma shot a glance
towards her, the formations around Ranma shivered once, then collapsed
into a circle of shards. Nabiki's hand trembled as she held out the
biscuit. "You should eat something, Ranma. She wouldn't want..." She
trailed off, as Ranma's features became pained, and a wave of fatigue
washed across his face.

The pigtailed boy shivered, then smiled faintly. "I'm not hungry now,
Nabiki. But thank you." He shuddered again in the frigid climate, then
relaxed, the emotion draining from him again. With that, the cold
stopped touching him for the time.

Tofu shouldered his pack, motioning Nabiki to do the same. She did so
silently, resisting the urge to shed tears. They were both alive, still.
There was a chance Ranma could save her... and himself...

***

The devastation around Phoenix Mountain was frightening, when Kiima
relayed the words to Nabiki. The Gekkaja had been taken as a symbol of
power, and only would be returned if someone brought the Kinjakan to a
place that... 'Ranma would know.'

And he had, though Nabiki couldn't understand how.

Kiima's eyes had a hard edge, as she surveyed the shattered and
crumbling stone parapets that made up their home. The fact that no lives
were lost was little consolation to the guards who had lost their wings
to frostbite.

Finding the closest thing to a friendly presence to be the very young
Saffron, they moved on quickly.

***

The trio marched towards a point below the summit, Nabiki and Tofu
trudging across the hard-packed snow, and Ranma seeming to drift more
than walk. His feet left no marks, though the snow where he passed
hardened enough to support both Nabiki and Tofu. They made no attempt to
speak to each other, until they reached a shallow, bowl-shaped
depression that appeared to be blasted into the side of the slope.

Ranma nodded once to himself, then turned towards Tofu and Nabiki. "It's
time. You two will be in danger. Give me the tool, and observe from a
safe distance." He pointed towards a nearby outcropping of stone.

Tofu twitched slightly, then removed a short staff-like object from his
pack. After a moment of hesitation, Nabiki removed a heavy iron ring
with odd decorative flanges from her own pack. The pair eyed Ranma
uneasily, then set the pieces on the ground and backed away.

The older man cocked his head to one side. "So you want us to watch?"

Ranma's face remained indifferent as he gathered up the ring and the
staff. "No. But you wish to do so anyway."

Nabiki shivered, wiping at her eyes with her mittens. "Ranma... take
care of yourself. We... I want you to come back."

His face remained unchanging, as he tossed the ring into the air, then
caught it on the end of the staff. "The tool will need to be
returned..." He leveled the ring-capped staff at Tofu. "You must
retrieve this tool at all costs. Otherwise, all is for naught. I go now.
Take cover over there. Do not forget, Tofu. The tool must be retrieved."
Ranma's ice-hard eyed bored into the doctor's, as he nodded nervously.

The man licked his lips. "The... Saffron would never forgive us if we
lost the Kinjakan. I'll be certain to take it back. What about..."

Ranma shook his head, turning away. "The Gekkaja is in her hands. If it
can be retrieved... Simply remember, this tool _must_ be retrieved at
all costs."

Tofu nodded, then scurried to the rock that Ranma had indicated they
should hide behind. If Ranma was stressing something when he was that
deep in the soul of ice, then Tofu knew it was damnably important.

Nabiki knew by other signs. Ranma never spoke that formally. That he was
now meant...

***

She vanished, leaving nothing behind but a patch of ice, and a room so
frozen that the walls had cracked when touched, and caused Soun's
fingers to become frostbitten.

Ranma and Nabiki had tracked her, then met up with Tofu after
discovering just what had happened.

A search for power, for strength... an equality that a young man had
denied her, despite his well-meaning. Two people agreed to help her in
her search for discipline and strength, each unaware of the other's
presence.

Tofu's return from his studies in Tibet left him with a greater
understanding of the nature of the universe, which Akane studied, then
turned to Cologne... their training had given her a sort of power... and
a lack of control.

Originally a quest for self-discipline... one that had failed after
being given too much power to resist so soon.

An icy rage is no more kind than a heated anger.

And the heart of ice was too dangerous to be learned so quickly, without
the proper self-control. She never would have learned it had Tofu or
Cologne been aware of the other's teachings, but as things went...

***

Ranma strode purposefully into the center of the depression, feeling
more than seeing the force at its center.

Easily four hundred feet across, the bowl sloped against the curvature
of the hillside, interrupted only by a presence at the center. Ranma
tightened his grip on the tool he held, then froze. After a moment,
responding to some unknowable sense, he resumed his walk towards a
swirling white cloud in the center of the depression.

The chill mists parted around him, sending writhing tendrils of sub-zero
air near him, which shied away from the Kinjakan. He frowned, seeing the
form revealed at the storm's center.

He nodded to her once, respectfully. "Akane."

***

The change in her was surprisingly subtle, and for a moment, she seemed
to be gaining the control that she sought. She had power, certainly. And
respect, to a degree.

... But it wasn't to be.

There was simply too much power to resist the temptation. It was no
longer a matter of her controlling the heart of ice.

One night, it became too much, and her means became her method. She
didn't know _why_ she had to do what she did... only that she had to do
it.

It was a matter of the heart of ice controlling her.

***

The passage of time had changed Akane. It was only a short time, but the
changes were severe. Ice glittered in her hair, giving her a mystical,
gleaming quality. Her dark eyes shone with a luminous, icy power, while
her clothing was nothing more than tattered remnants.

But most dramatic was the aura of intense cold that radiated from her,
faintly thrumming just beyond the edge of the senses.

She stared at Ranma disinterestedly, the Gekkaja held loosely in one
hand. "You came." There was no emotion in her voice.

The pigtailed boy nodded curtly, then showed the Kinjakan to her. "We
will do battle now."

Akane cocked her head to one side, then returned the nod. "It will be.
The victor will claim both keys. What then?"

Ranma shrugged. "I have no interests beyond the battle."

Akane frowned. "You will have power if you win. What else do you
desire?"

"We are beyond such simple things as desire, aren't we?"

"I believe so. But we must fight. My cause is not complete until we do
so."

Ranma hefted the Kinjakan once, then lowered it to his side.
"Understood."

As one, they raised their weapons, Akane's staff bearing a wickedly
curved scythe-like blade on the end. In one voice, they announced,
"Kumite."

And the battle was joined.

***

In a sense, Cologne's timing was flawless.

When Cologne had seen Ranma and Akane growing close, she knew that her
chances of getting Ranma were slim, and the chances of getting his
cooperation were even less. She had adopted on a different method
instead... Akane hadn't taken much convincing to be adopted into the
tribe.

If it hadn't been in the wake of Ranma protecting Akane -- again -- from
another fiancee's attack... then it might have worked out differently.
But Ranma -- in female form, no less -- saved her. Had to, really. And
because Ranma had to go to Akane to rescue her... Kodachi had time to
drop the one poisoned bouquet that a bystander had caught.

If it were a martial artist, they might have been able to shrug off the
effects. But Sayuri was not a martial artist. If Akane had been better,
she could have stopped Kodachi on her own. If Akane had been able to
avoid Kodachi. If she had been able to take the bouquet herself. If.

But she wasn't... and she wanted to be able to. Needed to, then. With
what had happened, the power to defend herself _was_ a need, not a
desire.

In another sense, Cologne's timing was disastrous.

***

It was brief, and it was brutal.

Ranma met Akane's charge, flinging his weapon away, and leaving himself
open for her attack. The Gekkaja sank into his chest, goring him and
spraying blood across the slender girl. He smiled sadly, then shuddered
from the exposure. "Akane... Maybe... simple things like desires are
better left intact. Without you, I have no desire to live. No
meaning..." He closed his eyes and slumped forward, shivering.

Inside Akane, something frozen... snapped. "R... Ranma?"

Her eyes widened, and she grabbed onto him, pulling the Gekkaja free and
tossing it away. "Ranma! Are you okay?"

He raised his head, hard ice in his eyes. "Such is the way of folly."
Akane recoiled instinctively, but not quickly enough.

With that, coldness enveloped the pair, freezing them in a near embrace.
Before Akane succumbed to the freezing grip completely, she saw the
light of warmth in Ranma's eyes. Ice began to form around them, giant
crystals stabbing into the air about them, pushing snow away, and
draining what little moisture that wasn't already frozen. Mere
centimeters separated the pair, encased as they were.

Tofu charged towards the slowly enlarging block of ice, gathering the
Kinjakan before the ice claimed it, then running away as the heat from
the staff began to melt the snow near him.

In defiance of nature, the frozen sludge drifted upwards, then froze
once more as part of the crystal that enveloped the young lovers.

Tofu ran, and Nabiki joined him shortly. After the ache in her legs
became too much, she slipped, and fell down. The slick ice that Ranma
had traversed gave her no purchase, and she flailed about with her
mattock for a moment before simply letting the slide take her. Tofu saw
Nabiki pass him, then flopped onto his chest, and slid next to her,
quickly losing the distance that they had struggled to ascend in the
past days.

On the hillside above them, a faint white cloud formed, even as a deep
rumbling noise was heard.

***

To be frozen instantly... she had lost contact with her body, but could
still see out of her eyes... and Ranma's met hers. Despite his betrayal,
she felt the love in his gaze, and knew that what he had done... had to
be done. Dead in body, but together in spirit.

She knew that she would be able to find her center, her peace... and
control here. If only the price hadn't been so great...

-------
Author's notes:

Once, when I first started writing, I promised myself I would never
write anything dark.

I guess I broke that promise, but I had woken up three nights in a row
from the same dream. I suppose I cannot deny my muse. This is the first
time I wrote something that well and truly felt like it _needed_ to be
written... C&C to brian@azurite.org

2/9/01


--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.



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