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Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Ch. 1 of Part 5)
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
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Part 5: A Warrior's Spirit

Chapter One: Walking Through Old Feelings

Dr. Tofu Ono sighed as he once again headed to one of the three
overnight private rooms that he had reserved for his patients. The air
was chill enough to make him pull his labcoat more tightly around him,
despite that it was a hot June day outside. Inside of his practice, it
had been nothing but cold for days. He really had to have someone come
look at the air conditioner, but he just hadn't had the time lately.

Despite his want to help, as a doctor and somewhat of a mentor to his
patient, Dr. Tofu didn't want to see Akane Tendo right then. He knew
that Ranma would be in there, sullenly studying, eyeing his comatose
fiancee distractedly every few minutes. He knew also that Akane was
still there, breathing and showing every sign of life but the most
important one; actually living it out, interacting. It puzzled him to
no end why she was still comatose; she shouldn't be. In all of his
research and conversations with colleagues, everything he could find
told him that she should be easily brought out by now. Yet try as they
might, it just wasn't working.

It was almost a week, since Ranma had idiotically tried to bring her
out with the nothingness. He knew that it hadn't been his intention,
though; Ranma had been distressed, and slipped into the Chinese
technique without another thought. Mostly, Dr. Tofu blamed himself for
showing Ranma the trick of the auras without cautioning him.

Then again, he hadn't counted on him recently learning a new technique
that helped him deal with emotional pain. Ranma was always one to try
out new techniques as often as he could, to master them. Even if it
was unintentional. And though he had not told Ranma, just in case, his
accidental experiment had helped the doctor. He thought there might be
a possibility of a way to bring her out, but he was hesitant to use
it. It involved further testing and precautions and, most importantly,
Ranma willing to possibly sacrifice his mental well-being. Knowing
Ranma would say yes to it, despite the possible consequences, made it
even harder for the doctor to bring it up.

Forcing a pleasant smile on his face, the doctor knocked respectfully
on the door that Akane was behind, counted to two, then pushed it open
slowly. That he did for Ranma's sake; he knew the boy liked to at
least show an unconcerned, together surface, and sometimes it could
take even the firmest of men and women a few moments to sum that up,
in emotional times like this.

"Hello Ranma. Akane." He walked to the side of the bed after putting
down the folder he had been holding. Ranma, as usual, was pretending
to study notes from school, but the position he was sitting in looked
rather uncomfortable. He suspected that the boy had been standing when
he had walked in, and sat down as soon as he heard the knock.

"Hey," said Ranma, his voice casual.

"How is Akane? Any change?" Dr. Tofu asked conversationally, briefly
touching Akane's forehead then examining her ki. It was flowing
properly as usual; nothing barred it's way, and if she did dream, they
were fairly peaceful dreams. Or at least, boring ones.

"You tell me, you're the doctor." Looking irritated, Ranma turned to
another page in his notes, pointedly not looking up.

_No change then...well, it's not like I expected anything..._

"What about you, Ranma? You haven't been sitting there since my last
check, have you? That was two hours ago."

But he didn't really need the boy to speak, to get his answer. His
entire ki spoke of lethargy and discomfort. For a body such as his to
go from very active, to barely active, it was nearly a shock to the
system.

"What's it to you? Just take care of Akane, don't worry 'bout me."
Hard, sapphire eyes pierced right through him now, and the doctor
found himself nodding, turning back to Akane. The sadness he saw in
Ranma's eyes was just beyond anything he was used to seeing on a daily
basis; he knew the boy was frustrated, but it only frustrated him
further to see Ranma not doing anything about it.

_If he could only see what his ki looks like right now..._

"You sound primed for a test, at least. Your aura is practically
yelling at you...," said the doctor, watching as Ranma suspiciously
put down his notes and jumped up to his feet.

"Another one? Bringing out her aura?" He stood up, looking down at the
blue-haired girl anxiously. He didn't even have to be asked to take
her hand, anymore. He picked it up willingly, comfortably, and stroked
the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Hey, Akane."

It was something he had put himself in the habit of doing; always
greeting her, always talking to her. When he was in less irritable
moods, Ranma would even mock things that Dr. Tofu said, telling Akane
as though letting her in on a joke. As though he wanted her to share a
conspiratorial laugh with him over the silly doctor who talked too
much.

Frowning slightly, Dr. Tofu nodded, then realized Ranma wasn't looking
at him.

"Yes, if you would. I'm ready when you are."

"No problem, Doc."

Eyes on their hands, he watched as Ranma's battle aura came up slowly,
carefully; he was getting better at that. It was a shame that it
wasn't really useful for anything, except maybe controlling his
temper. And this one situation. Sparks of blue were coming off of him,
with orange wisps and a purplish haze; Ranma's emotions were confused
right now. He could sense it as he watched, and quickly leaned back to
get a pen and piece of paper to write things down. Looking at his
watch, he readied himself to write down the time as soon as Akane's
aura was brought out.

Within seconds, another aura began to flirt with Ranma's; sparking up,
then pushing away. Flaring over his, then reducing itself to a small
flame. Ranma's aura chased it, as though to trap it, then ran from it
if it got too strong. Dr. Tofu tried not to let himself feel anything,
sad or hopeful, at the oddly peaceful look that was now on Ranma's
face. It would no doubt fall later, with Akane's own aura. It fell
harder each time he did the test, but still Ranma did them without
question.

_This is the closest he can get to her...I wonder if he relishes these
moments, or just does them because he knows it might help._

"C'mon, ya tomboy...you can do better then that..."

Dr. Tofu could hear overtones of affection in the words. He was
goading her, encouraging her to stay with them. He didn't have the
heart to tell Ranma that she probably couldn't hear him. Really, he
wasn't sure of that himself. It was possible, just not likely.

Akane's aura did rise, though it could have been the normal
fluctuation that tended to occur when the two met like this. Or
perhaps Ranma's mood was felt through the aura, and Akane responded
subconsciously. Finding himself oddly fascinated, the doctor was able
to ignore the sadness for a moment, and watched as the two interacted.
It was brighter each time, the dance of the auras. Brighter, and more
hopeful.

Slowly, the dance did end, and Akane's aura faded away. Instinctively,
Ranma brought his up further, encouraging hers. But once it started to
fade like that...it didn't come back. Noting down the time, Dr. Tofu
watched as it fizzled and faded away. Ranma's did as well, and he let
out a long breath of air, his eyes on Akane's face.

"G-good...," Ranma said softly, trying to keep his composure as he
always did. Dr. Tofu frowned, then put the piece of paper back on the
counter once he was done taking notes. Slowly, he stepped across from
Ranma, on the other side of Akane, and tried to turn his head to meet
Ranma's eyes.

_Maybe he could do it...but...it's such a risk..._

"Well Doc...anything different?" asked Ranma, allowing him to meet his
eyes. They shone, but held firm.

_He's stronger now..._

"You were able to keep her out for about four seconds longer then
usual; I'd say this is an improvement," he said, grinning
encouragingly at Ranma. But the boy just turned his eyes back to Akane
and gently squeezed her hand.

"Four more seconds, 'Kane." The doctor watched calmly, nodding.

_Maybe..._

"Yo, Doc...these tests...will they lead to anything? Does it really
mean anything if they last longer? Or if they're more intense? You
keep those notes pretty religiously."

"Well...they could lead to something, but I have to see." Ranma
shrugged, as though expecting the vague answer. Immediately Dr. Tofu
felt the urge to comfort and encourage him, but he didn't know what
with.

_Unless...but...he'd say yes, no question. What if he can't handle it?
What if..._

"Ranma." He didn't realize his voice had come out so seriously until
he saw Ranma's face look up at him, as though on command. Trying to
sort the words out in his head, he examined the boy's face, and
watched his strong ki radiate off of him.

"Yeah?"

"There might be...something...but it's a great risk. I don't know if
it will get her out. And it might be hard on you emo-"

"I'll do it!" interrupted Ranma, before letting the doctor even
finish. His eyes sparkled with sudden resolve, and his posture was
straighter. Dr. Tofu didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his
willingness to help without knowing the risk.

"Are you sure? Because if it ends up not working...it would be your
turn to suffer the consequences as well," he said, watching as the
light in Ranma's eyes only faded slightly.

"As long as it doesn't kill me or put me in a coma too, I'm game." His
eyes wandering back to Akane's face again. The doctor wondered if he
even noticed that he was doing that, anymore. Always looking, and
watching, as though expecting her eyes to suddenly pop open.

"It might just do either of those," he said, and watched the colour
drain from Ranma's face.

_Maybe he's not really up to this...maybe I shouldn't have said
anything...but..._

"Just tell me what it is."

* * *

Ranma's eyes were practically boring holes through the doctor's skull,
he was watching him so intently. There was a cure. A possibility. He
could finally do something! His muscles begged to differ, aching as
they were from not doing any sort of training after school, but he
ignored them. He could help Akane. Finally, he could do something
aside from the ever hopeless tests, and the waiting, and the needless,
self-imposed protecting. He felt as though a glimmer of light had
shone down into the depths of his despair to pick him out and give him
a chance.

"Tell me," he said again, watching as the doctor was starting to look
uncertain.

_No, no you're not backin' down now...I'm not gonna letcha..._

"It involves you being in a state similar to what you were in that
time, with Akane...visiting her through the nothingness."

Ranma's face fell. He remembered that, all too well. The pain of
realizing, the frustration at being told not to do it again, and the
shame at knowing that he hadn't really wanted to. Certainly, he wanted
to see Akane, even if it was in some sort of non-reality world. He
wanted to see her more then anything. But it still wasn't real. He
didn't even know if he had seen the real Akane there; he was half
convinced that it was all him. Yet she had said such strange things,
in that small time together...things he doubted his mind had come up
with on it's own.

"Right," said Ranma, trying his best to not let the doctor see his
nervous expression. He idly began stroking the back of Akane's hand
with his thumb again; it was comforting, and calmed his nerves.
Somewhat.

"Okay. First, after you told me about your experiences there, I told
an old colleague of mine, Dr. Jinsu Ika, about it. He has had more
coma patients then anyone else I know, and he specifically had one
experience that I wanted to know about; one of his patients, two years
ago, had his aura removed forcibly, then slammed back into him in the
course of a fight. That patient was in a coma for four days, and then
was brought out...using this technique."

_This is real, I can do this! I can do this, even if it means...going
there again. Hold on Akane, I'm comin'!_

He saw the doctor wince, but ignored it, suddenly feeling excited
enough to go right ahead with the technique then and there. The only
things that stopped him were the part of him that was rational,
holding him back, and the fact that he didn't actually know what to do
yet.

"You have to keep in mind that the person who was in the coma is a
martial artist that is stronger then Akane, and almost as strong as
you. The person who...retrieved him, was his wife. She is a master of
kendo, and is nearly as strong as her husband," cautioned the doctor.
Ranma nodded, though his face was turning thoughtful.

_So that's why he's concerned...he doesn't think Akane's strong enough,
maybe? Or cause she's a girl?_

"It took several hours to get him out, once she was there. She put
herself into a trance-like state where her body was in slumber, but
her mind met in a different plane of reality with her husband. There,
she taught him the technique to get him out." His voice was firm now,
as Ranma absorbed the information.

_A technique...I can learn anythin', easy...but can I teach it to
Akane? Of course I can, she'll have to learn...she'll have to._

"What's the technique?" Dr. Tofu put up a hand as though to pause him,
and Ranma felt a bubble of annoyance rise up.

"The technique in itself is something fairly simple to learn, for you
anyway. In the real world, with your real body. However...when you get
into the trance...you may find that it's harder to do. The last time
you...visited Akane, you were so convinced that it was real that you
held to that image, and you were able to interact with her. That took
more strength then you realized. This time...you would have to create
a place where you two can meet. And where you can teach Akane." Ranma
thought about this, furrowing his brow. Then, the obvious answer came
to him. The dojo.

"We'll go to the Tendo Dojo; if I can pull that up, Akane sure as hell
can. It's practically hers now, after all," he reminded the doctor,
and was pleased by the nod that he gave him. However, he was not
finished yet.

"You will be teaching Akane in an unfamiliar place. Even I don't know
where it is, or exactly what it's like. Plus, these were adults, in
their thirties and at the peak of their power. You and Akane are
eighteen...I don't know if you can do it." Quickly, Ranma looked over
to Akane's face, trying to sense the power there. Willing himself to
feel it, for the reassurance. But nothing came. Blinking, he felt his
hand shake, then stilled it.

_We can do it...we're strong...Doc said I'm stronger then both of 'em,
and you're not that far behind me 'kane...are ya?_

"I'll do it," he said, his voice full of resolve and determination.
The doctor sighed expectantly, then nodded.

"As I thought. Sit in the chair Ranma, but turn it so you have your
back to Akane. I want you free of distractions for this. Once you're
comfortable, let me know, then we'll begin..."

* * *

Akane felt incredibly lonely, stuck as she was in her own mind. The
voice, having realized what it was, spent most of it's time sobbing
when it wasn't telling her in agonizing detail what Ranma was doing.
What he was feeling, what he was saying, how close she thought she was
to breaking down from the pressure. Sometimes, it would rant about how
much it hated Gosunkugi for doing this to them. Other times it would
yell, and scream, trying to free itself from it's own binds.
Occasionally it was passive and spoke calmly, but those moments were
rare now. It had just finished moaning about Ranma, and how much it
wanted to touch him, which felt odder then she could describe. Now it
was excited about something, humming to itself.

The voice was definitely her, though. Akane could feel the nuances of
herself in the voice, even as she thought it was being weepy, or
stupid, or pathetic. It was all aspects she could see in herself; even
that story it had told her to begin with, how it was created...it just
reeked of her. She had always loved stories and mythology; it made
sense she'd put herself into one to help cope with the madness.

"He's going to do it! He's going to do it, he's going to do it, he's
going to do it, he's going to-"

_Would you stop that already? I'm nowhere near that pathetic._

"But he's going to! He's going to. I heard him. And the doctor."

_...I don't sound nearly that childish, do I?..._

"I'm not childish!"

For perhaps the millionth time, Akane wished she could sigh. Or at
least break a few cement bricks. Maybe line them up, a row of eleven
or twelve, and just break them one after the other. She ached for the
slight sting of the hand that should come with breaking so many.

_What's he going to do? He's not risking himself again, is he?_

"...maybe."

_Maybe?! What's he doing? He's not coming back in? That stupid, 
stupid-_

"Don't call him that!"

Akane stopped, and forced her thoughts to calm. It was right. She was
right. This version of her, however idiotic and unlike her, and
girlish and naive, was right. Ranma wasn't stupid. The whole situation
was stupid, not Ranma. She could blame a lot of things on his
rashness, but this was not one of them. Not really, anyway.

_What if he hurts himself?_ She was surprised at how small her own
thoughts sounded. As though to compliment the tone, the voice began
sounding less childish and more nurturing.

"He'll be fine, don't you worry. He's strong. Right? Our Ranma is
tough, and strong, and brave, and..."

Akane felt a low moan want to rise up, but she wasn't able to summon
it from anywhere. Frustrated, she instead upped the volume of her
thoughts.

_Stop that! Stop that right now!_

"What? Isn't it true?"

_Well...maybe...but you don't have to sound like such a little girl
about it._

"Oh, but Akane...we ARE a little girl. Aren't we?"

_WE are eighteen years old._ The voice just laughed, but soon the
laughter turned to sobbing, and she knew the voiced would stop paying
attention to her, at least until she got her cry out. Akane wondered
if her body was actually shedding tears. Could it do that?

_Oh, Ranma...just get me out soon...please...whatever stupid thing it
is that you're doing...just hurry up with it already...but if you hurt
yourself...I swear to god, when I get out of here..._ The empty threat
died, and slowly she began to envy the voice for it's ability to cry.

* * *

In the small, well-lit room, two beds were set up within a foot of
each other. Laying on one of the beds was Akane, motionless as usual,
her right arm reaching out towards the bed beside her. Her hand was
lost inside the hand of Ranma, who was laying in the next bed, staring
at the ceiling. His expression was that of quiet contemplation, and he
barely paid attention to the others that were present.

Around the room were Mr. Tendo, Kasumi, and Nabiki, as well as Mr. and
Mrs. Saotome, quietly talking and watching worriedly. Although Mr.
Tendo and Kasumi only had eyes for Akane, everyone else was looking
between the two with anxious looks on their faces. Ranma's mother
hadn't stopped staring at him since arriving ten minutes ago.

Between the two beds, near their linked hands, Ranma could see the
doctor standing out of the corner of his eye. He was reading them, he
knew; he was being cautious. Overly cautious perhaps, but Ranma
allowed it. There wasn't much he could do about it, anyway, and the
doctor had instructed him to remain calm before the trance. So calm he
stayed, focusing on the technique he was to teach Akane, and how he
was going to go about doing it.

_If I can find her...I just gotta bring her into my image, and hope she
understands._

The technique was fairly simple; he was certain Akane could get it. It
was a matter of basically reinforcing the attachment between the mind,
soul and body. It was supposed to cause a jump in her mind and wake
her from the coma, leaving her weak and dizzy, but otherwise fine. But
doing the technique was not the hard part; it was finding her, and
teaching, that would prove challenging. As always, though, Ranma was
up to any challenge, especially if it involved martial arts and saving
Akane.

The way he was getting there wasn't the nothingness, either; Dr. Tofu
had said that that was much too dangerous. Instead, they were using a
technique that was something like hypnotism, at least at first. Ranma
would be hypnotized, then Dr. Tofu would carefully guide his aura to
Akane's. In that state, he should be able to meet Akane in a dream-
like world. Or rather, two dream-like worlds; that was the problem.
Akane would see one place, while Ranma would see something completely
different. He had to find her, recognize her, and coax her into seeing
what he was seeing. Supposedly, it would have been much more easy to
do if he went to the Nothingness, but it was much more dangerous
there. He could get lost more easily, and stuck, and then they would
have two people in a coma that just refused to let go.

"We're ready now. They're both calm enough, and Akane's ki is at a
peak activity wise; she's in a dream. Ranma, if you want to back out,
now is the time," he heard the doctor say, as though from the next
room. Ranma just gritted his teeth and blinked.

"I ain't backin' out. I'm ready."

Others were talking in the room, encouraging, voicing frustrations and
anxieties, worriedly wishing him luck. Something inside of him almost
wanted to listen to the anxieties, to the caution, but he didn't want
to let himself. Not for one second could he doubt himself or Akane on
this. Not even one second.

Summoning his strength, Ranma tensed and released his muscles, feeling
himself relax. He needed a clear mind for this, and an image burned
inside of it; him, and Akane, in the Tendo dojo. Detailed images; he
wore his blue Chinese shirt and black pants, and Akane the blue dress
from the day of the curse, and there was an altar on one side of the
room. A window was closed on one side, and the door open a crack. On
the floor he sat, with Akane in front of him, and they watched each
other quietly.

He kept the image firmly on his mind, focusing on it as he heard the
doctor start speaking to him in a calm voice.

"We'll begin then; everyone, quiet please. Now Ranma...I want you to
relax completely, and focus on every word that I say..."

As Ranma closed his eyes, he felt himself floating, slipping away into
the doctor's words. His left hand tingled with the connection to
Akane; he was going to be doing something with her as well,
encouraging the dream in her. Wasn't he? Ranma found that he was
beginning to forget.

The doctor's voice was haunting now. He couldn't understand the words
anymore as he felt his very aura burn and fizzle like volcanic rock
hitting the roaring ocean. It hurt, like cold ice cream on the brain,
and he tried to wince but found that he had lost control of his
nerves. The realization didn't bother him as much as he thought it
would; instead he floated into the darkness, wondering why he was
having trouble opening his eyes. Wondering where he was going, how he
would get back, and what it would look like when he got there.

He sped up; he could feel it, the traveling, the turning, the
twisting. Still he couldn't open his eyes, and instead rode on what
felt like a roller coaster. Dipping down, fast, faster, faster still,
then a slow ascent. Agonizingly slow, only to go down again, faster
then before, fast enough to make him want to scream.

Then he stopped, and promptly felt himself hit the hard, wooden
ground. With a groan, he shifted himself to his back and opened his
eyes.

What he saw was the ceiling to the Tendo dojo. Blinking, he felt his
memory come back like a fog, and he sat up quickly, wiping the
dizziness from his eyes.

"I'm in the...Akane? Akane!" he called, looking around frantically. He
didn't think he had such good luck as that, but still he wanted to
try. Had to try.

But he was alone. His words echoed off of the ceiling and walls in
ways they never did in the real world. Sighing, he pushed himself to
his feet, and began looking around the room. It was sorely inaccurate.

"Man...this ain't right...there's s'posed to be a crack here, for
one...," he said, looking at a spot on the wall that looked newer then
it should. As soon as he concentrated, the crack was there, an exact
copy of the one in the real dojo.

"Whoa..."

He combed the entire dojo, adding cracks and wood knots, objects to
the alter, scuff marks on the floor. When it was finally done, he
stopped and stood in the center of the room. It was perfect; as exact
as his memory would recall it.

_Except it's missing Akane..._

"How do I get her in here? Maybe she's in the house...in her room?" he
wondered, feeling anxious. But he wasn't sure if leaving the dojo was
such a good idea; it had taken him ten minutes just to get it perfect,
how long would it take for him to get the main house?

"I gotta call her here...but how?" He knew that just imagining her
there wouldn't work; the doctor had cautioned him against doing that,
saying that he'd more then likely end up with an image of Akane rather
then the real thing.

_Akane, Akane, Akane...where are you?_

"Maybe if I just wait for a bit...she'll come in on her own...yeah,
that's it Saotome, because your luck is so great?" He shook his head
as he sat back down again. His energy was beginning to sap, as though
he had been running for a very long time. He wasn't even sure how long
the traveling had taken him. It had felt like a few minutes, but the
doctor had said it could realistically be at least an hour.

He jumped as laughter began to fill his mind; loud giggling, like a
boy child laughing at a prank. Shaking his head, Ranma got up,
scanning the room. But nothing was there.

"Who is it?" he called angrily, looking at the window, then the door,
seeing nothing different at either. The thick air around him caused
him to feel warmer, yet he wasn't sweating.

"You mean ya don't know?" asked the voice, and still Ranma couldn't
tell where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from nowhere and
everywhere all at once; both in his mind and outside of it. And the
voice...it sounded so familiar.

"Just show yourself already! I don't have time for games." He heard a
shuffling, as though the being was thinking about this. Nervous,
though still angry, Ranma crossed his arms and looked around with
slitted blue eyes.

"You never have time for games anymore."

Ranma could practically hear it pouting; the sensation of knowing it,
yet not, was starting to block out his anger as confusion set in.

_Who IS that? I know that voice..._

"Of course you know it! Stupid," it said, though Ranma hadn't spoken
the words. Surprised, he merely stood in the center of the room,
waiting. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that it was his
own voice, though younger.

"You're...," he began slowly, eyes wide with realization.

_No, no it can't be...me? It sounds just like me though...ugh, this is
so stupid. I don't have time for this! I need to find Akane, and..._

"Akane's okay. Err, I think."

Breaking away from the spell of confusion, Ranma's eyes widened, and
he took as step forward as though he wanted to attack the voice.

"Where is she? Bring her here! And how do you know anything?" The
voice was eerily quiet.

"Dunno." But Ranma shook his head stubbornly.

"Don't gimme that. You know! Tell me!" A sort of breeze passed through
him, making him feel cold and empty. So, so empty that his arms fell
from being crossed, and he hung them limply at his sides.

"I really don't know. But...I hope she's around here. Somewhere," the
voice sounded so wistful, and suddenly he wondered if it really was
his own voice.

Maybe something's just talking with my voice...that makes more
sense...

"Feh. And wouldn't that be convenient? Our luck's not that good," said
the voice in it's odd, pouty whine. Ranma shook his head, as though
trying to shake the voice away.

"Our? You're not me, dumbass." But the voice just laughed maddeningly,
frustrating him to no end.

"Just show yourself already! We'll see who's me and who's not. I'll
kick your ass either way if you don't bring me Akane."

The voice seemed to pause in its laughter, considering this. Ranma
felt the breeze once more, but forced himself to not shiver. He didn't
like this, not one bit, and now his vision was starting to blur.

"Ya really wanna see me?"

"Yes! Whaddya think I've been sayin'?"

"Great! I was waitin' for that. I don't like being stuck like this...I
wanna...manitest," it said, causing Ranma's eyebrow to twitch, as he
wondered if that was really such a good idea.

"That's manifest, ya dope."

"Whatever. C'mon, picture me. Can't ya? Ya can't, can ya? You're such
an idiot, maybe you can't." Ranma could feel his skin prickling,
though noticed his aura wasn't flickering.

"Maybe I don't wanna. Maybe it's not such a good idea." But the voice
just chuckled.

"It doesn't matter. I think I can...do it...myself. Just lemme in here
a minute..."

Ranma began to shake at the sudden headache, and stepped over towards
the wall to brace himself. He could...feel the voice, inside of him.
It was probing, searching, looking for something. He wasn't sure
whether to feel violated or just plain enraged as he bawled up his
hands into fists.

"What are ya doing?!" His were eyes shut tight from the pressure.

"Getting at our memories, idiot. Ooh...hey, there's me. With Pop, on a
training trip. You remember those, right? Those were fun. No stupid
girls, no school, no curse, no people trying to kill us. Just me 'n
Pop, walking along, not a care in the world..."

"Get outta my head!" Ranma roared, pressing his hands to his head as
he saw that he could picture those memories. He hadn't called them up,
but there they were, flashing through his mind as though he was trying
to see them. Him, eight or maybe nine, dressed in a small white gi
with a black belt, following behind his large, plump father who also
wore a white gi. They each had backpacks on, and Ranma carried a stick
in his hand, waving it around as though it were a sword or a staff.
His father chuckled at the antics of his son, walking in long strides
and occasionally looking back to make sure his son didn't wander away.

They were somewhere in China, somewhere...warm. It was still early,
and they seemed to be on a morning walk, no doubt heading around the
mountains. As he watched, he heard the giggling sound once more, and
the image began to fade. An odd feeling of regret at leaving the happy
moment filled him, and he unconsciously tried to cling to it, to go
back there.

Slowly, slowly, it faded to blackness, and Ranma felt his headache
leave. With a low groan, he opened his eyes, and looked towards the
center of the room. His eyes opened the rest of the way in shock at
what he saw. It was himself, from that picture. Child Ranma, wearing
the same gi, even holding the odd stick in his hands. His posture
spoke of great confidence, and he had one hand on his hip, his feet
spaced apart in a stance. His eyes shone, and a small smirk adorned
his face.

"It's about time! Almost didn't think ya could do it." Ranma groaned,
then forced himself away from the wall.

_Dammit...I don't have time for this!...dammit dammit dammit..._

* * *

_Hey...hey what's going on out there? Can you see? Can you feel
anything?_ thought Akane. Something had...shifted. She didn't want to
get her hopes up, but she was sure she had really felt that. It wasn't
all in her head. Something had moved, and a familiar sensation had
come over her. Feeling. She relished at the touch, but was still
doubtful; she still couldn't see, and as far as she could tell, she
was still in her own mind. She heard the voice sigh, then make a light
clucking sound, as though clucking it's tongue.

"I don't know. Well no...I know, but I'm not sure." Akane had expected
that; when had the voice ever given her a straight answer, recently?

_What do you know?_

"Dr. Tofu put Ranma in a trance...but he's connected to you.
Connected, connected, connected...hey. And Ranma...he's seeing
something. Or feeling something, but he's angry. His aura's all
tingly, and warm. I think he's mad." Akane thought about this
uncertainly. If Ranma was in a trance, what was making him angry? And
he could see? It didn't make sense. She couldn't see anything, hadn't
the doctor sent him to the same place again? If it was, she should be
able to see something. _But maybe that's what the feeling was._

"Hey, you can feel now?" asked the voice. Akane hadn't meant to have
her thoughts be directed to the voice like that, but they had anyway.
The bond between them was growing; they were one person, yet still
different for some reason.

_Sort of. I don't know what I'm feeling, but it's...odd._

"Hmm," was all the voice said in reply. Akane wondered if it was going
to fade into her again, like it had before. Wasn't that a part of it?
It had said that, earlier. Worry for Ranma made the odd tingly feeling
come back again; yes, she was definitely feeling something. And it was
obviously due to something the doctor had done, but she couldn't tell
if her still being there meant that it was not working.

_Can you tell what he's seeing?_

"It's...hey. It's familiar...smells...musty. And sweaty. I can't
really see it...but it's familiar. Maybe..."

_Sweaty? The school gym?_

"No, no, more familiar. Closer...it smells...kinda like...Dad, and
Kasumi's wood cleaner."

_Wait, how can you smell now? You couldn't before._

"...I don't know."

_R-right. Umm...maybe it's home_, she wondered, trying to picture it.
She was shocked to suddenly see the blackness before her transform,
and to feel firm wood beneath her feet. Gasping, and feeling shock at
being able to suddenly, she found that she was in the Tendo sitting
room. The table was gleaming with polish in front of her; to one side,
the tv was on it's stand, off and looking freshly cleaned as well. The
walls were of white paint and wood, and as she turned around, she saw
the sliding door open just a crack. Eyes wide, she walked toward it,
relishing the ability to be able to move again. A tear came to her eye
as she ran out the door, her heart pumping fast.

"Ranma? Dad? Kasumi? Nabiki? Anyone?" she called, feeling her blood
pumping faster at the excitement. Adrenaline made her feel high. She
ignored the fact that she shouldn't really be home, that she should be
in a hospital, and that if she really was home she should be weak.
Weak as a kitten, and definitely not wearing the same blue dress that
she had been wearing on the date.

"Ranma? Ranma!" she yelled, going from her room, to Nabiki's room, to
the bathroom, still seeing noone.

"Akane, wait...," the voice began, a small, girlish plea for
attention. Akane ignored it, not feeling undaunted quite yet. She
searched the downstairs area, the kitchen, the porch, the dinning
room, Ranma's room. Only when she got back to the entranceway did she
stop, gasping for breath. No one was there. Her excitement fell in a
heap, and immediately her mood went right back down. Sadly, she braced
herself against the wall, looking around. Really looking around. There
were...errors, she noticed. The house was too clean, there wasn't
enough detail in the wood, and things were missing. The phone in the
hall, on the desk. It wasn't there, but as she thought about it, it
appeared before her eyes. With a low moan, Akane put a hand to her
head, feeling the emptiness come in once more.

"It's not really home," she said, her voice sounding so, so old. And
tired. Slumping down on the floor, she put her head in her hands,
sighing. As she looked down at herself, she felt irritation at the
sight of the dress.

_That stupid, stupid fight...arg, why did we do it?...why didn't
I...listen..._

Immediately the dress was gone, replaced with a pair of white shorts
and a blue t-shirt. Confused, Akane shook her head, a blank expression
on her face.

"But you couldn't listen. We couldn't listen. We had to...try," the
childish voice soothed. That just angered her all the more. Why did
they have to try, anyway? Was this really worth it? She didn't even
noticed that she had lashed out until she heard the sound of her own
fist punching the ground. She looked at it in wonderment, her eyes
going wide as she saw that she could put the floor back together once
she moved her fist. Blinking, she slowly got up, backing away from the
floor as though she had seen something very unsettling.

"Can you let me out too? Please please please? I'm getting tired in
here...and it's frustrating." Turning away from the floor, Akane
looked at the wall, letting her eyes blur.

"Let you out? What do you mean?"

"Actually...I think I can let myself out, I have an idea. Just a
minute."

Akane was suddenly hit by a fierce headache that made her groan; she
immediately knelt to the floor, and an image came into her mind as
though she had called it up. She saw herself, maybe eight or nine
years old, playing outside. There was a large tree nearby; she was
running around it, wearing a pretty red sundress covered in grass
stains, and holding a big straw hat in her hand. It was a sunny day,
and she was in the park, having the time of her life. Nearby, she
could see Kasumi, walking towards her with a small smile on her face
and stopping to watch the little Akane play. Kasumi wasn't much older,
herself; perhaps eleven, though she looked and acted much older. The
girl waved to her big sister, then stopped running around the tree to
run to her, toppling her over. Kasumi gasped, lecturing Akane on being
so rough, but giggled all the same. Laughing, Akane helped her to her
feet, then followed her back to the house for supper.

Slowly, the image began to blur as she heard a light humming sound
like a lullaby. The headache receded, and the image disappeared,
fading away to blackness. Realizing she had closed her eyes, she
opened them slowly and gasped at what she saw.

A little girl with short, dark blue hair, wearing a red sundress and a
cute, oversized straw hat stood before her. She smiled up at Akane
shyly, though her eyes gleamed with mischief.

_It's me...it's...but..._

"Hi, Akane," she said in a small, childish voice. Akane felt as though
she may lose her balance, and looked down at the child with wide,
questioning eyes.

_It's...really me._ Slowly, she pulled away from the wall, and took a
step towards the child. All thoughts of getting home were forgotten as
she watched it in wonderment.

_Really...really, me._

Then she closed her eyes, and felt the odd, black feeling of emptiness
and isolation return to her mind.


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