Having avoided the Neko-ken for years, Ranma's secret
has finally been revealed. Turning his cute fear of kittens
into one of the most powerful and forbidden forms known.
     Now Ranma's past and present threaten to collide. What
else is buried in Ranma's past. Can Akane and Nabiki learn
the truth before it's too late?

     Greetings...
     This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's
arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.
     I have listed it as [DARK] as it deals with atleast
twilight if not dark themes.
     It should go without saying, that I own none of the
characters in this story with the possible exception of
Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to
any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need
help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no
intention of earning money from this story. This is only my
way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and
wounderful charcters. Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.



    Of Cats and Men (Part B Ver: 2.5)
    By Kit          [12/01]


     "Don't worry, I'll be just fine," Saotome-san reassured
Tofu-sensei one last time.
     "You have my number, if anything should come up," he
reminded him one more time.
     Genma had been here since Ranma's unexpected Neko-ken
incident. Ordinarily, if a patient warranted an overnight
stay, he would have stayed in the spare room upstairs.
Genma, however, was more than well enough to go home. True,
he had complained about some pains until he had agreed to
let him stay a few more days.
     He didn't blame the man for being so hesitant to return
home, but he didn't exactly feel sorry for him either. When
he first examined Genma, he had tried to get them to take
him to the general hospital, but that was the last thing the
Tendou's wanted. When he was told Ranma had been the one
that had done that, he had found it hard to believe. That
was before he found out Ranma had been trained in the
Neko-ken.
     He frowned, as he gathered the last of his things.
     Apparently Ranma had had a few more incidents during
the past couple of weeks. Luckily, no one had been hurt
during those times. He thought it likely that that had
heightened Ranma's sensitivity. Saotome-san's confirmation
that they had been able to avoided it for several years now
did not make his prognosis any better.
     If Akane weren't the only one who could stop him, he
would have suggested moving Ranma out until his anxiety
level came back down. Until then, the safest thing for his
father was to stay far away from Ranma.
     As he stepped outside to lock up, he thought a silent
prayer to what ever kami that watched over the boy that
Ranma wouldn't be lost to the Neko-ken.
     Just as he turned around to head home, three teens came
running up shouting to him. Akane and Nabiki he recognized.

     =====

     Genma looked around him, and saw a lot of angry stares.
He wasn't sure what this was about, but he knew it wouldn't
be any good. 'I knew I should have kept that glass of water
handy.'
     "We need you to tell us about Ranma's cat-fist
training," Nabiki announced once everyone was settled, and
Genma looked sufficiently unsettled.
     "I already told you all about it. It was dumb not to
finish reading the procedure, but it sounded so simple."
Genma said with a sigh. 'This again.'
     Nabiki smiled in such a way that Genma felt the color
draining from his face.
     "We want to hear the whole story this time."
     Akane backed Nabiki's glare with one as hard as she
could at Genma.
     "This is Yuota." Genma only nodded his acknowledgement.
'What is it with Saotome's and names,' Nabiki thought.
"Yuota Kimuwara of Kurai Naishin High School," she
continued. He only nodded again. "Brother to Hiromi
Kimuwara." Genma nodded once again.
     Yuota stared to declare what a waste of time this was
when the big man before him suddenly looked terrified of
him. 'Well, maybe this wont be a waste after all,' he
thought.
     "How." Genma felt his throat dry up. "How is your
sister." His voice almost bounced up two octaves.
     "She's dead." He spat with as much venom as he could
muster. Tofu jumped when he said that. Genma began to look
terribly burdened.
     "I'm sorry to hear that," he almost lied. He was sorry
to hear that. But thought for a minute, that she had come
back to try to take Ranma. He was never sure exactly what
Ranma's feelings for the girl were; he had been very young
at the time. Considering how things where not going well to
his perception between Akane and Ranma, she might have stood
a good chance. He had hoped that since he acted similar to
Akane as he had to him about that girl, there was some hope.
But Ranma was hard headed and needed some pushing to see
things the way they had to be.
     "Yea, right. That's why you left her there to die."
Tofu was intensely studying both Yuota's and Saotome-san's
reactions.
     "N-no, I- I tried to give her a blanket. I told her to
go home." Genma sputtered though his shock. Lying, cheating,
and stealing he could and had justified to his own
conscious, but he would never abandon a child. 'Okay, there
was that once, but I didn't really abandon her, her father
was just a few blocks away, when she finally gave up the
chase. Ranma had already been engaged to one of Tendou's
daughters, so he couldn't really take her along anyway.
Besides the road is no place for a woman, much less a girl.'
     "What happened!" Akane demanded.
     "Ranma had become weak." He said at least. His eyes
focusing on events that he had truly regretted, even as he
made the same mistakes over and over. Events, he never
wanted to think about again. Even as they sometimes hunted
him in his sleep, when Ranma would have a particularly
restless night.
     Everyone sat back and waited.
     "Ever since we had moved into that neighborhood. We
should have moved on immediately, but it was nice to have a
roof over our head for the winter, even if the walls where
drafty." He had also gotten a temporary job as a bouncer at
a bar. He had wanted to bring Ranma in, to get some
experience, but it had been a topless bar. And if his dear
sweet wife ever found out.
     "It was subtle at first. He seemed to be putting less
than his full amount into his training. Each day, it almost
seemed as if I had to start over."
     "He had saved some other kid from some of the local
bullies. He had dealt with them sufficiently. But later I
heard from his teachers that he had run from a fight at
school. He hadn't even attempted to put up a proper offense.
That was inexcusable. That is when I decided it was time to
start his advanced training."
     "The Neko-ken or Cat-Fist," Akane supplied. Genma
nodded his acknowledgement.
     "What is this Neko-ken you keep talking about?" Yuota
asked.
     "An ancient and powerful form forgotten by most."
     "With good reason," Akane added as Nabiki past Yuota a
copy of Genma's training book.
     Yuota turned pale as he read the description.
     "Of course, he was a stubborn boy, and hadn't learned
it the first time. But when he realized how important it
was, he went back until he finally mastered it." Genma eyes,
watery with tears, sparkled a little at the single bright
spot in that whole ordeal. Genma himself had been ready to
give up that last time, but Ranma couldn't stand the
disappointment he saw in his father's eyes.
     "Of course, by that point, the inherent weakness in
that form became apparent," Genma explained.
     Yuota looked confused so Akane mouthed 'fear of cats.'
     "So, I embarked on a more dangerous path to try to help
him overcome this fear."
     "You kept doing the same thing," Nabiki added
sarcastically.
     "Yes, but this time, I would have to deal with the
Cat-Fist each time he emerged."
     "He acts like a cat when he's doing this?" Yuota asked.
     "Actually, he thinks he is a cat only to forget
everything that happened while he is a cat once he comes out
of it."
     "So, that's why he started showing up again, just
before you left."
     Everyone else in the room turned to look at Yuota.
     "Yes, each time, I would have to go and hunt him down.
He always ran to that same girl. Your sister I assume?"
Genma asked, Yuota nodded.
     "She thought he was trying to make up with her by
acting like a cat, since he knew she liked cats that's what
I thought," Yuota added. Akane started to feel angry with
that for some reason.
     "So, he must have trusted your sister very much,"
Nabiki commented, hoping to forestall Akane's rage.
     "I take it, your sister didn't like fighting?" Dr. Tofu
asked Yuota. Not seeing where this was going, he only
nodded.
     "So, after meeting your sister, Ranma started to hold
back when fighting. At least until maybe he could adjust to
their level. Still fighting, but only so much as he had to."
     Yuota blinked as he put it that way.
     Nabiki almost slipped at that postulate. "So your
saying, Ranma tries to be a better person, all for someone
he doesn't even remember?" Nabiki considered.
     Akane couldn't decide weither to be moved by such a
thing or to go ballistic. He certainly didn't care that much
about her!
     "That doesn't make since!" Yuota said shaking his head.
"Then why did he leave her like that?"
     Genma sighed. "You don't understand. It wasn't supposed
to happen that way. There was nothing I could do."

     =====

     'Genma,' he told himself, 'you have failed.' So many
attempts to undo what he had done. In the beginning it
sounded so simple. Then once things started, there was just
no place to turn back.
     He looked as his son curled up in the lap of that same
girl as he had done each time before. She giggled as he
started to purr. Once he fell asleep, it was safe for him to
go up, acting happy to finally have found his son after
searching for so long. She hadn't trusted him at first, but
once he told her who he was, she didn't mind as much when he
would come and pick the boy up. Besides, Ranma was a little
heavy for her lap.
     Ranma never could remember anything while held by the
Neko-ken. Genma always made sure to bring him back before he
could awake somewhere else. So concerned with making sure he
didn't prematurely wake the boy up he didn't notice he was
being followed.
     "He's not playing kitty is he?" A soft quiet voice rang
out of the night. Genma almost dropped his son in surprise.
The small girl jumped off the crumbling fence-wall that
blocked off the backyard. A feature that had helped convince
Genma that this was the perfect place. Not everyone
understood the dedication a true martial artist needed.
     "He's fine. There's no need to worry about him."
     "You didn't answer my question. What happened to him?"
     "Sometimes a person must make great sacrifices. Ranma
is going to be the greatest martial artist in the world," he
replied proudly.
     Ranma moaned.
     "Ranma!" she called out, and he began to stir. Genma
quickly set him down, not sure it this was a good or bad
sign; usually he slept through the night.
     "Hiromi?" Ranma asked through the haze of
mid-awakeness. "What are you doing here?"
     "I followed you. After your dad came to pick you up
from my house." She pronounced 'your dad' like it was the
worst curse imaginable. Which said a lot coming from a 10
year-old girl.
     "I haven't been to your house." Ranma said, almost a
question, as he looked to his father. At least he didn't
remember going there. He hoped he would soon learn this
Neko-ken stuff so his father wouldn't be so disappointed in
him.
     "Y-you don't remember?" She said softly.
     Ranma looked at her wanting to remember. This was bad,
if he was going places and not remembering.
     "You have been coming over to my house for most of the
past week acting like a cat," she said, tears forming in her
eyes. "I-I thought you were being silly trying something
lame to make up with me. But you weren't acting where you."
She had never wanted anyone to hurt in her entire life, but
the monster that stood before her and dared to call itself
Ranma's dad was pushing that temperament.
     "I was acting like a c-c-ca-ca-..." Ranma said unable
to finish the sentence. He looked over to his father for
some explanation.
     "Yes, son. You have mastered Nekoken. But." he tried to
explain. Ranma was instantly in his face.
     "I already learned it?! And you still kept on throwing
me in. into. that?" Ranma yelled, as he motioned toward the
pit, a shiver went up and down his back. For a second, he
forgot why he was yelling.
     "You don't.." Genma started, only to be interrupted
again.
     "And what's the big idea teaching me some technique
that I can't remember or use!"
     Genma felt too guilty at this point to be upset that
his son was back talking him. His words only matched those
of his conscious these past few days anyway.
     Ranma slowly advanced on his father. Thoughts of how
disappointed his father had been, of continually being tied
up and. Ranma began to shake as his anger and frustration
boiled over. He couldn't believe his father would do that to
him. He opened his mouth to continue the verbal beating when
he heard it.

     While Ranma berated his father, Hiromi looked over at
the rotted wooden cellar door. Ranma had gestured to it.
Said he had been tossed inside. She knew the dark was very
scary, but she didn't think Ranma was that afraid of the
dark. She walked up to the trap door, which was little more
than an old panel. She lifted the latch and grabbed the
door. It was heavy, very heavy. Especially for a
ten-year-old girl who hadn't been training since she was
four. Still, she managed to lift it up over her head. It was
the darkest thing she had ever seen. She shivered at the
thought of being locked up down there. A sound drifted up
from its depths, but she couldn't make it out. She tried
harder to see what was down there.
     A few hisses and an urgent meowing began to emanate
from the pit. After all, the opening of the door always
signaled food.
     "Kitties?" she said softly.

     Genma knew true horror as he watched his son, unable to
look away.
     First Ranma looked frantically around, not really
seeing anything. Genma could almost feel the fear evident on
Ranma's face.
     Ranma was surrounded by cats. He knew that. He couldn't
see them, but he couldn't see them in the darkness of the
pit either. He began making panicked little motions, as he
tried to get free of cat treats binding him. It didn't
matter that he wasn't tied up this time. He began whimpering
as hundreds of non-existent claws began to tear away the
non-existent food. Ranma wanted to scream, but that never
helped.
     Genma stood up. He wanted to run over and hug his son,
to apologize for everything. Tears began to run down his
face.
     At the movement in front of him, Ranma's unseeing eyes
locked on his father's. Frozen, Genma was treated to a sight
that tore at his soul. A sight he would forget save during
his worst nightmares. Those same dreams he would forever
have whenever Ranma would wake him up in the middle of the
night with his screaming. He watched as all the humanity in
his son drain out of those eyes. As the broken trust held
within those eyes was transformed into a pure animalistic
hatred.
     "Merroooow," Neko-Ranma warned.
     Remembering Hiromi, Genma started to rush toward her.
He had to get her away from the pit.
     Sensing his movement as a danger, Neko-Ranma launched
at Genma with everything he had.
     Hiromi dropped the cover and screamed as Ranma batted
at Genma. He flew several feet back. Neko-Ranma readied to
pounce on him, to finish. Along Genma's side and front
several trails of blood appeared.
     Owning cats, and seeing Ranma position himself, she
knew what he was about to do. Whatever she thought of his
father, she couldn't let him hurt the man more than he was.
Grabbing a rock off the ground, she threw it to try to
distract him.
     Neko-Ranma felt the strike on his side. Turning he
hissed, ready to strike whatever dared to strike him.
     Hiromi froze with fear. The wild dark fire danced in
his eyes.
     Ranma stopped. Not a hesitation, but a full stop. Genma
recognized this immediate change as Ranma's body suddenly
absorbed its full momentum. Even in the Neko-ken, he would
not strike her. 'She even attacked him first,' Genma
realized. 'The Nekoken, truly is a failure.'
     Hiromi, however, was not a marital artist. Thus, in
that delicate half of a second, didn't understand that Ranma
wasn't going to hurt her. Fear blossomed in her and
attempted to make her run for her life. Her body wasn't
quite ready to listen yet. She took a half step backwards
and hit the protruding edge of the pit. She waved her hands
wildly at an uncoordinated attempt to reclaim her balance.
Before her, Genma paled and Ranma tilted his head to the
side. She fell back onto the wooden cover hard. Before she
could blink, the rotted wood gave way and she plunged
straight into darkness.
     In the pit, the cats were ready and hungry. They moved
against the falling form before she even hit the ground.
Claws barred as they fought to get at their food. Food that
seemed to be missing this time.
     Neko-Ranma busted through the door, enlarging the hole.
     An eternity, to Genma, passed before Ranma emerged from
the pit. He held her in his mouth by the back of her jacket.
Her clothes were shredded and both had several new cuts.
     She began to quiver lightly. The sun was setting and
her clothes could no longer provide any protection from the
winter night. Genma picked up a blanked and moved to bring
it to them. Neko-Ranma began to hiss until he backed off. He
folded it up and lightly tossed it by them. Hiromi paused
from petting her friend for a moment and stared
uncomprehendingly at the object that he tossed. Neko-Ranma
began to nuzzle her until she returned to her hands to their
previous duties.
     Genma took a deep breath. He was concerned, but there
was little he could do at the moment. Returning to his pack,
he saw to his wounds. A second blanket became his dressing.
He had to rest for a bit due to the loss of blood, but he
held on. Gently gathering their supplies, he began to repack
their gear.
     All through this, both of them watched his every
movement. Hiromi continued to softly pet her friend. After a
while she began cooing in his ear. Promises that she would
help him and keep him away from the bad kitties.
     By the time Genma finished packing, both of the
children were asleep.
     Carefully, Genma lifted his son out of her lap. They
needed to get away from this town before anyone else got
evolved. He felt clumsy with both packs on his back and
Ranma cradled in his arms. Looking down at his son, Genma
was struck by the thought of how long it had been since he
had needed to carry his son.
     "Stop! You can't take him!" Hiromi suddenly called. She
tried to get up, but her legs were numb from Ranma laying on
them all evening.
     "He is my son. I can take him anywhere I deem
necessary." Genma lectured. "You should go back to your
home. Your parents must be worried for you." Genma leaped
over the wall with Ranma in his arms and both packs on his
back. Briefly, Genma thought of calling her parents, but not
only didn't he have a phone, but didn't know their number,
and he certainly wasn't going to take the risk of waking
Ranma up to ask.

     =====

     "I thought you said it was an old woman who lived
nearby, that brought Ranma out of Neko-ken?" Akane demanded.
She was burning up that someone else could bring him out,
although she didn't know why she was upset.
     "That is right. In the next town, we went to. That's
where we meet her," Genma answered while pulling his gi top
back on. He had removed it show them the scars he had
received that night. "The Neko-ken training was still fresh.
Anything could set it off: seeing a cat, hearing a cat,
sometimes I think all he had to do was think of a cat and he
would slip into the Neko-ken," Genma recounted. "The old
woman was nice enough, but sometimes, I think she actually
thought Ranma was a cat," Genma derided. The tears from his
long tail drying up. His mind already banishing those
memories back to the dark places of his mind where he kept
all such memories labeled not to be remembered. Were most of
his memories of training under the master were locked away.
     "He really did like her," Yuota finally admitted, very
softly.
     Akane turned to glare at Yuota, but found she couldn't.
The story was too heart-wrenching.
     "Where did he take off to, anyway?" Nabiki looked at
Akane.
     "He was so wound up this morning, I told him he should
go home and take a soak in the furo." Akane smiled. "I
suggested he try some of that bath oil that Kasumi bought to
help relax."
     Yuota looked up in alarm. "You said what?" All the
color drained from his face.
     Akane looked confused. "What's wrong with relaxing in
the furo?" Nabiki asked.
     "My family makes bath oils. T-that was a special family
formula that only the women of our clan used."
     "Including Hiromi," Akane wondered aloud, her eyes
growing big.
     Everyone jumped up, except for Tofu-sensei and
Saotome-san, and took off running out the door.
     Nabiki cursed herself for not having noticed it sooner.
Ranma had started acting strange the day Kasumi brought that
stuff home. Scents, she had read once in her high school
psychology textbook, were one of the most powerful of the
senses for memory recognition.

     =====

     "It's this way." Yuota shouted, at a dead run. He had
never ran so hard in his life. Nabiki was just barely
keeping up. Akane hadn't even broken stride yet, but she was
fretting the entire way. She knew she could get there
faster. If only she just knew where there was.
     They had arrived at the Tendou family home fairly
quickly, only to find they hadn't been quick enough. From
Kasumi, they learned he had been soaking in the furo until
just moments ago, when he ran out the door looking like he
had seen a ghost.
     Nabiki introduced one ghost, the kind boy who had
insisted she try the bath oil, Yuota. They didn't have time
to explain, but had no idea where Ranma may have run off.
Nabiki was about to start making calls when Yuota turned a
very pasty white and announced he might know where to look.
     Both Akane and Nabiki felt a lump in their throat. Each
remembered how they had treated Ranma when they learned of
his 'cute' little fear of cats.
     Hearing about the Neko-ken training and how this had
lead to Ranma's fear hadn't made it feel real to them. I
mean, no body could really do that to their child, could
they.
     Even seeing the full power of the Neko-ken released,
both by Gos and Shampoo, hadn't brought it home to them. I
mean, that pervert kissed Akane in front of everyone, right.
He had to know what he was doing and was just trying to take
advantage of it. That he didn't seem to remember had hurt,
but Akane wasn't thinking about that at this moment.
     What both sisters were thinking about was what
unquestioned answers lay ahead of them. Now they were going
back to where it had all started. They both shivered. They
were going to see once and for all the truth.
     Neither girl was sure they wanted to see it. But
neither girl could turn away either. Both felt a gnawing in
their stomachs. The growing reality of just how harsh the
world could be. And it had only been a few blocks from their
home.

     =====

     "It's-just-a-stupid-dream, it's-only-a-stupid-dream,"
Ranma chanted to himself. He knew it was a dream. It had to
be a dream. Why? Because before him stood a place that only
existed in some of his nightmares. A place he only knew as
'The House.'
     "Giru had to go to the hospital last night," the voice
of a young girl echoed out of the dark.
     "Who are you!" Ranma shouted out.
     "You did it, didn't you?" she shouted out accusingly.
     Slowly, Ranma walked up the steps. There was a
condemned notice on one of the banisters saying something
about knocking down the house next week. The subtle detail
of his imagination only served to unnerve him further.
     The door was stuck, but that was nothing for the
martial artist. A quick palm strike above the door knob and
the frame gave way for admittance. Once inside, Ranma saw
the young girl. She was still dressed in the brown uniform
of her school. Something about that tickled at the tip of
his brain.
     "Silly, its me!" she laughed.
     "H-Hiromi?" Ranma called out, uncertainly. She seemed
to smile at him. Somehow, it seemed to remind him of Akane.
"You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place," Ranma
scowled the little girl.
     "Duh, I go to school here. Are you transferring here?"
The girl giggled out.
     Ranma looked around. The room was completely devoid of
furniture. He could see by the streetlights long tears along
the walls. It looked like some caged animal had been let
loose in here. "'Course me and the old man been in lots
worse places than this," he told himself uncertainly.
Silently Ranma hoped that no one had been here when whatever
it was had been released.
     "No body deserved that," he felt more than heard the
disappointment in her voice.
     "People like that never learn. You have to show 'em,"
someone shouted from the back.
     "Anyone can change, if given the chance." Hiromi turned
to shout through a window in the back. "And everyone
deserves the chance." She took off running right through the
wall.
     He made his way toward the back, but the girl was no
where to be seen. He found the back door, and after another
palm strike, found himself in the back yard.
     'Got dark quick," he thought as he looked around. He
felt the need to remind himself again it was just a dream.
His sense of deja-vu and fear began to take a stronger hold.
He began his chant again, "It's-only-a-dream."
     "Hey, you! Homeless Boy!" Came a shout from nowhere.
Ranma dropped into a full combat stance, but he couldn't
pinpoint the direction the danger was coming from.
     "You have been bothering Hiromi. I want you to leave
her alone!" The voice called out again.
     "I thought she needed help," Ranma called out. He was
ready for the attack from any direction.
     "I know your kind, and you're all no good."
     He completely froze, when he saw the rusty metal slab.
It was covering something his mind refused to tell him.
     "Would you like to see my cat?" The little girl cooed,
now sitting on top of the cover.
     "W-wh-what is that?" Ranma almost whimpered. He
completely lost his fighting stance.
     "Just what do you think you're doing!" he heard his
father shout. Every nerve in Ranma's body went off in alarm.
"A martial artist life is fraught with peril. Were you not
ready to give your life?"
     The cover may have been heavy, but it was nothing after
the training Ranma had received during his life. He lifted
the cover easily over his head.
     There before him sat the darkest dark, the blackest
black, and the deepest hole in the universe. Any and all
rational thought he may have held onto up to this point left
him. He could not stop staring into the abyss even as he
felt it gaze seep into his soul him. Nothing existed, not
even  sound. Then a noise touched upon his soul. It came
from within the house, but he wasn't paying that much
attention.
     "Kittens?" he answered meekly.
     "Ranma!" Akane shouted from the doorway. They had
finally made their way through the house. He partially
turned unseeing eyes in her direction. There was such great
pain and fear etched on his face. None of them could ever
have imagined such a sight on anyone, especially Ranma
Saotome.
     "I know where that is," came the innocent voice up from
the pit. "Follow me."
     His grip wavered.
     Akane took a step forward.
     He started to fall backwards into the pit.
     "Nooo!" Akane shouted. The heavy metal slab slammed
down with a finality. The clang echoed off of everything was
the only answer to her plea.
     "Ancestors, he was able to lift that thing!" Yuota
exclaimed. To him, everything was taking a surreal turn in
his mind. He hadn't wanted to believe Genma's story. Now he
began to feel that perhaps he had judged Ranma prematurely.
His wish to see Ranma experience his sisters final moments
had been granted. How had he become the greater evil in this
story. This was not the way things were supposed to happen.
     Akane tried vainly to lift the slab. The latch held,
stuck from the force that had slammed it shut. Silence beat
against their emotions. Taking a deep breath, Akane lifted
her hand. Forming a fist, she slammed it down hard against
the flat surface. Again she punched. Any pain she felt was
washed away by her tears.
     "Stop, Akane!" Nabiki tried to hug her sister. "We've
got to go get help!"
     Akane pulled away from her older sister and began
raining punches against the cold metal. Visions of so many
broken bricks flashed through her head. She knew this was
different. But she had to break through this, because this
was different.
     All Nabiki could do was sit back, watching and praying.
Kami-sama only knew what was going on in Ranma's head right
now.
     Both her hands were bleeding from the unrelenting
abuse, but she could not stop. She almost burst out with
insane laughter when it first began to give. Bowing inward,
then bending. Large dents became deep impressions.
     Quickly, although it was an eternity for those present,
she broke though the aging and rusted slab that had covered
the pit for the past six years. She grabbed at the sharp
edges of the hole and pulled. Blood tears formed along the
stress fractures as she forced a whole big enough to jump
through.
     "How do you know he will know its you!" Nabiki called
out.
     "Ranma!" Akane shouted down into the abyss. She took
one last quick look at Nabiki, who was as pale as a sheet.
With one last forced smile she said, "I know he will."
     She jumped.

     =====

     A cool wind blew across the open field. The sky was a
beautifully clear baby-blue. Four dark figures stood near
each other but alone to their thoughts.
     One male, dressed warmly in long pants and a heavy
sweater, asked for forgiveness from his baby sister. He had
finally glimpsed the truth that she had understood so well.
     A female, wearing slacks and a dress jacket over a dark
blouse, watched from the side seemingly unmoved. She had
decided to re-evaluate her opinion of a certain boy, but for
now she would be content to just watch.
     A second female stood in a long dress and sweater. She
brushed her short hair back with her free hand. It was still
sensitive, as the bandages had only come off that morning.
She didn't remember when they started holding hands, nor who
started it. She didn't feel like saying anything about it at
the moment either. Before her was a cold inanimate stone, a
marker. Someone she had never met. Someone who had made a
mark in her iinazuke's life then vanished. She didn't know
if she should be jealous or thank her. They still had a lot
to work out. They still had trouble talking to each other.
'But maybe, just maybe, if things calmed down.'
     The last figure, currently male was dressed in a set of
green clothes very reminiscent of a Chinese uniform complete
with green cap. He stood before the marker on the ground not
even noticing his iinazuke's hand in his own. His emotions
and thoughts were hidden from view, until one looked into
his troubled eyes. He didn't remember this person. Yet felt
her loss deeply. He wasn't really sure of all that had
happened those years ago or those few days past. No one had
spoken much about it, yet. Each instead thinking deeply
about what they experienced.
     As they began to leave, words came to him from
somewhere. He couldn't help but to whisper them: "Everyone
deserves a chance." He looked up into her eyes and smiled.

     =====     =====

     AN: This is version 2.5 of this story. Some scenes have
been fleshed out further than they were before, and a new
ending has been added.
     Here is the last segment. I forgot how big this turns
out in e-mail when I sent the first half, so I broke the
second part in-half again. Hopefully this will make it
somewhat less ungangly. :)
    Thanks again for your support.


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