I saw this in a dream I just had today, and I felt I had to share it.

As always, the characters of Ranma 1/2 belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I
am simply borrowing them.  C&C is wholeheartedly welcomed and 
encouraged.



Thunder's Folly
by Apollo Racer

Akane huddled tightly on the bed in grief.  She never in her life 
imagined it would end like this.

She had gone through the house looking for Ranma.  When she barged 
into the guest room, she found him lying on the floor.  "Ranma, you 
idiot!  How can you sleep so late in the day!"  When he didn't 
respond, she stomped over to him.  "Didn't you hear me, Ranma?  Wake 
up!"  Akane shook him roughly, and it was then she realized something
was wrong.  He was cold to the touch and a little stiff.  He hadn't 
even awakened when she shook him.  "Ranma?"

Rolling him over revealed he was ashen, and a quick examination 
confirmed her worse fears.  Ranma Saotome had finally been defeated. 
There were bruises and indentations on his body that were all too 
familiar... they were the type to come from a bokken.

Akane's wail had brought the entire household into the room.  As soon
as they all saw Ranma was dead, the other two sisters gasped in 
disbelief.  Both father collapsed against each other, their bawling 
matching Akane's tear for tear.

Later in the afternoon, after Tofu had confirmed what they found and 
taken Ranma away, the house was eerily quiet.  Nabiki had gone for a 
walk to allow this development to sink in.  She deftly covered her 
emotions by stating she had to contact her minions and cancel all 
bets against Saotome.  In truth, it had devastated her as much as it 
did Akane.

Ryoga had managed to find his way to the dojo, but once he sensed the
overwhelming pall that hung over the home he had changed into P-Chan 
to comfort Akane.  However, she was far too lost in herself to even 
notice him and he quietly sneaked away.  Nodoka, upon hearing the 
tragic news, had rushed over to comfort her husband and the Tendoes.
After crying herself useless, she was encouraged to take a bath and 
regain some sense of bearing.  Kasumi, though she hurt inside, was 
carrying out her duties, though the smile that easily found its way 
to her face could not be summoned.  She brought some tea to Soun and 
Genma, who were sitting on the engawa, leaning against each other as 
they stared out at the koi pond.

"What could have happened, Saotome," Soun said quietly.  "How could 
this tragedy have hit us so suddenly?"

"I don't know, Tendo."

Nodoka made her way out to them, a perplexed look on her face.  
"Husband, dear?"

"Yes, Wife?" he asked, not looking up.

"Have you seen the family sword?"

The question hit the men as though they were splashed with ice water.
"D-d-d-did you say the family sword?"

"Yes, I could have sworn I had left it by my clothing while I bathed,
but it wasn't there when I was getting dressed."

This struck Genma as a grievous omen indeed.  First he lost his son 
and heir to the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and now the 
family sword had turned up missing.  This bode ill for the Saotome 
name.

Kasumi appeared thoughtful.  "Now that you mention it, have you 
noticed how quiet it's gotten in this house?"

The color drained from the parents' faces.  Soun immediately leapt to
his feet and rushed upstairs.  When he came back down, he said, "Just
as I feared... Akane's not in her room."

It wasn't hard for even Genma to put two and two together.  "What 
could she be thinking, Tendo?  Where could she have gone?"

~ * ~

Akane stalked along the streets of Nerima.  Grief and sorrow had been
pushed away... now it was replaced by an anger that built the longer 
it smoldered.  There was one person with whom she intended to loose 
that rage, and the kamis protect him if she should find him.

However, the kamis were all but pointing her right to him.  She 
somehow ended up at the school, where the sight there stoked her fire
into an inferno.

Kuno was standing at the foot of the statue of his father regaling 
his tale to the men of the sports clubs.  The instant they saw Akane,
though, they suddenly had other places to be.  Kuno looked around for
his audience when his eyes alit upon the Tendo girl.  "Ah, the 
beauteous flower that is Akane!  You should know that I have finally 
defeated the vile sorceror Saotome and broken his evil spells over 
you.  Now I can freely..."

His prattle seemed to fade as a thought occurred to her.  The whole 
time she had been searching for Kuno, she wondered just how he could 
have managed to beat Ranma.  She realized now that Ranma's normally 
cocky attitude must have made him complacent.  Since the battle with 
Saffron, Ranma's normal fights were steadily easier for him.  Kuno 
had never been a match for him before, and Ranma's defeat over the 
Phoenix God had only cemented his superioroity in skills over his 
bokken-wielding rival.  Even Happosai had once admitted that the boy 
was too much of a match for him, and he would soon be ready to take 
over the title as Master of the Anything Goes school.  Could Ranma 
have underestimated Kuno, thinking he was such a pushover, in way 
that Kuno had been able to get in a lucky shot and press the 
advantage?  It was the only answer she could think of.

Kuno's bragging had revealed another important piece to the puzzle.  
After so many defeats and humiliations by Ranma, Kuno's father had 
informed him that he should not expect such an easy road to college.
The elder Kuno had refused to pay for Tatewaki's admission to the 
college of his choice, and that he must earn his way in.  After the 
normal pompous display from the swordsman, it had sank in that his 
father was serious.

Kuno had vowed then and there to cram so he would be able to pass the
entrance exams.  Despite all the energy drinks he consumed that 
Kodachi made him, or maybe because of them, his textbooks were 
starting to swim in his head.  He decided to take a walk, since he 
was so exceptionally wired that anything else was unthinkable.

He had met Ranma on the street and with the false confidence given 
him by the overload of adrenaline in his system, he had challenged 
the evil sorceror on the spot.  His heightened awareness alone would 
have provided a challenge for the martial artist, but Ranma had 
somehow managed to invoke Kuno's watermelon training.  That, combined
with his overstimulated reflexes, allowed Kuno to launch a flurry of 
blows so fast even Ranma couldn't counter them.  A lucky blow had 
stunned him, and Kuno pressed further.  Not only was his speed 
enhanced, but he also couldn't tell that his strikes were using all 
the strength he had.  An accurate shot had fractured Ranma's skull, a
stab to the throat had damaged his windpipe and a thrust to the chest
had driven a couple of his ribs into vital organs.  As Kuno laughed 
maniacally of his triumph, Ranma had managed to stagger and limp away.

As Kuno's words sunk in, despair gripped Akane's heart anew.  It 
wasn't uncommon for a martial artist to allow a simple overconfidence
to get the best of him... she just thought Ranma wasn't one to let 
that happen.

She had been paralyzed by his tale, and had not been aware that Kuno 
had moved closer to her.  His breath now tickled her ear as he 
whispered, "That cur's heinous spells must still have some residual 
effect, for thou art trembling in awe of my tale.  It is easy to see 
how being in his thrall for so long would have such a lasting effect 
on you.  I shall comfort you, and my love will open a path for you to
make your way free of his vile... oomph!"

As soon as she felt his hands on her, she acted.  his head snapped 
sharply to one side as her fist made contact just above his ear.  As 
he rolled in the dirt, she didn't give him a chance to get up.  Kuno 
was about to rise when he felt a sharp prick under his jaw and 
realized Akane was holding the tip of a katana there.  When he looked
in her eyes, he saw a rage that immediately engulfed his spirit.

"You bastard," she growled.  "You killed Ranma... the only man I..."
Her gaze faltered a moment as she realized she was about to admit, to
herself and to another, her feelings for Ranma.  But then her resolve
reinforced itself, and she no longer cared who knew.  "...the only 
man I ever loved.  Do you hear me, Kuno?  I loved Ranma, not you.  
Get that clear in that incredibly dense and muddled skull of yours, 
cuz I'm only gonna say this once.  I don't love you... I never loved 
you, and I never will.  And for killing Ranma, I'm gonna make you 
pay."  Her arm tensed up.  Kuno saw his death in her eyes and truly 
realized he had made a grievous mistake.

"Akane."

Nabiki's voice stunned Akane and caused her to pause in her action.  
"Don't do this.  He's not worth it."

Anger and sorrow waged war within her, fighting for dominance.  "But 
he... he killed Ranma."  A tear made its way down her face.

"I know.  And killing Kuno won't bring him back.  And it'll be 
letting this jackass off too easily.  He needs to live, Akane... so 
he can learn what his actions have lost him."  She slowly brought one
hand around and placed it on the sword over Akane's hand.  The other 
hand she put on her sister's shoulder.  Nabiki gently moved the blade
away from Kuno's head.  With the act thwarted, Akane dropped the 
katana and collapsed against Nabiki, sobbing uncontrollably.

Kuno, for his part, remained where he was, stunned at what he was 
witnessing.  Akane was actually shedding tears, not for him, but for 
Saotome, whom he had killed.  It was this instance that finally drove
home into his brain the irrefutable fact that Akane was forever lost 
to him.  The void it created in his heart felt as though he had 
fallen into a bottomless chasm.

Nabiki picked up the fallen sword and started to take Akane home.  
Before she had taken two steps, however, she turned back to the 
swordsman lying on the ground.  Her gaze was colder than any he had 
ever seen her give him.  "Know this, Kuno... when you killed Ranma, 
you not only lost Akane.  You also killed your pigtailed goddess.  
You will never see her again, and I hope you lose endless nights of 
sleep with the thought that your actions alone placed both girls out 
of your reach forever."  She turned her back on Kuno and began 
walking away with Akane.

Kuno could only watch them leave, paralyzed by the truth in her words
and the sudden grief in his heart.


             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'