This is the last chapter to Part 4. For those new to the fic
or who missed chapters, please go to: 
http://elena.ff6rpg.net/countdown.html

One part remains, after this.


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Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Ch. 5 of Part 4)
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
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Chapter Five: My Mind

The sound of the school bell signaling the freedom of the students was
still ringing loudly in Ranma's ear, even as he was already out the
gate and halfway down the block. He had no doubt gotten a few looks,
for jumping out the second floor window and then for running like a
man possessed through the sea of students. But he didn't care; if
anything, he was used to the attention. People tended to think him
hasty and brash, for some reason, and interesting. He ignored a small
tear that he had received in his blue shirt on the jump down, and kept
running.

Although he had missed school the day before, he had decided to go
today. Only after Dr. Tofu promised that he was not going anywhere
while Ranma was at class, and after learning that Mr. Tendo would be
there for a while as well. That hadn't made sitting in a classroom all
that easier, though. He had been stared at, and questioned about
Akane, and prodded about why he hadn't been in school yesterday. All
he would say was that Akane was sick; no one could get out anything
more. He would just give the cold shoulder to anyone who pestered him,
and soon the direct questions became less. That didn't stop the
stares, or concerned whispers, though. He wondered if anything could
stop whispering students.

Only to the teachers did he tell the truth, and barely; he said that
Akane had been hurt, and was temporarily comatose. They had been
concerned, but gracious; already in his schoolbag Ranma had started
collecting notes for Akane to use when she came to. Provided she came
around soon enough for them to be of use.

Sailing in through the front door, Ranma barely noticed the handful of
people that sat in the waiting room, reading newspapers and old
magazines and looking at the clock. He went straight to Akane's room,
feeling oddly more anxious the closer he got. When he finally opened
the door and entered, his heart was racing and his eyes immediately
sought her out. She lay still, in the bed, unchanging from the last
time he had seen her. Nothing had happened; she was safe

Still in a coma, it seemed, but safe.

"Yo. Akane...and Doc," he said, noticing that the doctor was sitting
at the counter nearby. Ranma only had eyes for him for a second as he
walked over to Akane, dropping his schoolbag on his chair. She lay
motionless, in slumber still, the sheet up to her waist just like it
had been earlier. An I.V. was still attached to her arm, and it looked
like it had been changed around. Noticing that the toes of one of her
small feet was poking out, he fixed it quickly to cover her, then
stood over by her shoulder.

"How is she?" he asked, still looking at Akane. He felt relief at
seeing her again, despite her condition. Worry had made him restless
all day, and bored; he had been in the room for lunch too, but even
then he couldn't stay long.

He heard the doctor get up, and walk over to the other side of the
bed.

"She's fine, no change. Well except for one small thing. It seems her
body is more in tune with her mind...earlier, when I was checking her
ki, her eye twitched. It's a common thing...sometimes a patient will
kick, or hold a hand tighter, or even turn around in the bed. As
though dreaming, and acting out the dream." Ranma watched her, wide-
eyed, taking in the information.

_Dreaming...I wonder if she's in a dream now...can she think like this?_

"And it means she's closer to waking up, right?" asked Ranma, looking
up at the doctor this time. He frowned, shaking his head.

"Not necessarily. I don't think she'll be in the coma for long,
though, Ranma. I'm glad you're back actually, I need your help for
some tests." Shuffling his feet, Ranma tilted his head in curiosity.

"Tests?"

"Tests. I'm certain her aura is in there alright, but I want to see
how it reacts. I thought of doing it myself, but I can't easily
observe that way, and none of my nurses are capable of a battle aura."

"Whoa, wait. So ya want me to just bring up my battle aura near her?"

"Something like that. Are you ready now?" Ranma stood straight,
nodding.

"If it helps Akane, definitely."

"Good. Now first, we need to establish physical contact. Hold her hand
in both of yours." The words 'what? I can't do that,' were on Ranma's
tongue, but he let them die, along with a flush that wanted to creep
up.

_This is nothing...it's not romantic, it's just a test..._

Quickly, he picked up Akane's hand, feeling it in between the two of
his. He had to admit, it felt good, though strange. Slowly, he allowed
a look at Akane's closed eyelids, then moved his eyes back to the
doctor.

"Now bring up the aura. Tell me what you feel." Ranma obeyed, though
could almost see Akane smirking at him, even though she wasn't.
Articulating his feelings was something Ranma was definitely not good
at.

He brought up the aura easily, letting it come up slowly. Turquoise
and blue flashed around him, with hints of orange that bubbled and
flew, as though sparks of flame. He kept it low, looking at their
hands as he did.

Then, he felt it. Akane's aura. It surprised him somehow, and his aura
wavered, then strengthened.

"I can feel her...she sensed me...she sensed me!" he said, barely
hearing his own excited voice.

"How strong is it?"

"Not very...but it's there. Warm, and blurry, and...confused," said
Ranma. "Like she sensed her attacker, but doesn't know who or where to
look."

Ranma realized he was holding her hand tighter now, and loosened his
grip. Hope welled up in him like a spring; despite the doctor's words,
he wanted to hope that this meant something good. That she was there,
and waking up soon, and....

But then her aura faded. He saw thin wisps of green and pink break off
from her and slowly thin, until her aura was gone. Saddened, Ranma
intensified his own, but she didn't come back. After a moment, he felt
his shoulders slump, and his aura receded.

"She's gone now. I can't feel her anymore," he said, his voice heavy
again. But the doctor just nodded, writing something down on a
clipboard.

"Thank you, Ranma. And don't worry...that's natural. Maybe you were
able to take her out of the dream for a minute, and then the dream
took her back. It happens."

"Hey, if I take her outta the dream long enough...will she stay?"
asked Ranma, looking up at the doctor as he put the clipboard back
down on the cabinet.

"I really don't know. It...depends." Nodding, Ranma put his left hand
back at his side, but still held her hand with his right. The
lingering feelings of her aura remained, and he didn't want to let go.
Not just yet.

Soon after, he heard the doctor leave the room, and he relaxed his
posture. Blinking, he looked at Akane's face, squeezing her hand as
though hoping for a reaction. None came, but...

_He said she might react...maybe if I can get her to...she'll come
back..._

"People missed ya in school today. Everyone was askin', and starrin',
and being annoyin'. I told 'em you were hurt...," he confessed,
feeling his voice come out soft and harsh at the same time.

"I got notes from the teachers though. Hey, if you hurry, you can
catch up. I'll catch up too. It shouldn't be hard, we're just going
over old material. I don't think we even did anything new, today."

It was still weird, talking to Akane like that. It felt as though he
were talking to himself, or talking to some sort of diary or journal.
She was just so calm, and rigid, like she was actually listening. But
with her eyes closed, and no encouraging body language. Ranma sighed,
running a hand through his hair.

"And I STILL don't know what to do about Shampoo. I, umm, did do some
thinkin' on it though..."

"If we're...well...ya know...married...would she do anything, ya
think? Cause then it'd be harder...me being married already and all. I
wonder if that stupid Amazon rule even applies to married men..."
Akane merely radiated serenity, and Ranma sighed again, trying to
clear his head.

"Enough talk. Let's just try this again. Ya ready?"

Holding her hand tightly with both hands now, he slowly brought up his
battle aura, careful to keep it low and non-threatening. Beads of
sweat began to form on his face; he was putting more effort into it
this time.

As though hesitantly, he felt more then he saw wisps of green and red
form around Akane. Gentle, nervous wisps, strong and confused. It
felt...nice. Like she was really there, before him, and if he just
closed his eyes, he could pretend. Pretend that there was no
Gosunkugi, no curse, no coma, no Shampoo coming back to claim him. A
slow smile crept up his face at the thought, but it didn't touch his
hard, sapphire eyes.

And then, without really trying to, Ranma found that he was closing
his eyes and fading into the nothingness. Blackness enveloped him, but
it was tinged with green and red. And then, from a distance...he
thought he heard a voice...

* * *

_Something is wrong._ Akane...felt, a shiver go through her mind. It
seized, and spasmed, and made her feel dizzy. Was she feeling? The
being had told her she couldn't. She hadn't felt anything ever since
she was knocked out, why should she be starting now?

"You can feel it?" The voice was very surprised, despite that it
usually seemed to know what was going on with Akane.

_Please...what's going on out there? Something's happening, isn't it?_

"The doctor had Ranma do a test...you sensed that, right? Your aura
came up," it explained. It was wavering though...sounding more and
more like Akane's own tone, rather then just her voice in her head.

_A test? What does it mean? What did he do?_

"He held your hand, and brought up his battle aura. It brought yours
up too...it made him...hopeful."

_Falsely hopeful?_

"I don't know. But he's trying it again. This time though..."

_What? What is it? Just come out and say it!_

"He went into the nothingness. Like Cologne taught him...he's in there
now, with his aura raised, and yours, and now they're...stuck?"

Stuck?

"He won't push his back down. And yours...can't go down. He's..."

_He's what? Tell me!_

"I think he's...trying to keep you there. The doctor...he said that,
maybe, if he can keep your aura up long enough you'll just come out.
But I don't think he knew going into the nothingness would do that. It
just...happened."

_...is he going to be alright? And me? Can our auras just stay up like
that?_

"I...don't know."

Akane was worried. This didn't sound right at all...Ranma was going to
lose all his stamina, and even the voice didn't seem to know the
outcome of it. It didn't know a lot of things, lately.

_That idiot! He's going to hurt himself, isn't he? What does he think
he's doing?_

"Now calm down Akane. That idiot is trying to save you."

_Like hell I'll calm down. Can't you get him to stop? What if he hurts
himself?_

"I don't know if he will. I can't get him to stop. I can't...oh..."

_What? What?_

"It feels..."

_...you can feel?..._

"Like I'm...fading..."

_Fading? No! No don't go away! Please, no..._

"He's falling...just...Akane...you..."

_Wait no! No!_

"I'm not going anywhere...silly...heh...I'm you."

And then light rushed back into the room. Pain and sensations
surrounded her; her head throbbed, her legs tingled, her forehead
perspired with a cold sweat. Breath rushed in and out of her lungs,
and her heart beat as though trying to rush itself out of her chest.

Her silver eyes popped open as she felt a sensation at her hand. Skin,
falling away, the touch fading. Ranma?

_Ranma?_

"Ranma!" Dizziness overtook her as she sat straight up, noticing
blearily where she was. Dr. Tofu's. The overnight patient's room.

_Where is...oh, my head...unnh..._

Spots of red and orange floated before her eyes as memory flooded back
to her. The curses, Gosunkugi, the vague notion that Ranma had his
aura back. Then the feeling of intense pressure as her battle aura was
shoved back into her body, like slamming against the wall.

_Oh god...the voice...I...Ranma!_

She quickly tore the I.V needle out of her arm, not paying attention
to the blood that spilled on her dress or the pain that came as a
result. Ranma had been holding onto her hand, she was sure of it. And
the feeling of something slipping away...

She looked over the side of the bed, and was both relieved and
horrified to see Ranma there in a crumpled heap, eyes closed and limbs
sprawled. His green shirt hung off of him limply, and one of his black
slippers looked like it was almost off. Despite the pain and
dizziness, she forced herself up, carefully going to his side on the
floor.

"Oh no...Ranma, Ranma you idiot! What did you do? What happened?
You..."

_The voice...the voice, it said Ranma was trying something...idiot! Why
did he...?_

Her hands were on his shoulders, on his head, on his chest, moving him
to a straighter position, trying to wake him up. Frantically, she
barely heard her own reminder to be careful, that he may have broken a
bone on the fall.

_What should I do...What should I...?_

"Dr. Tofu! Dr. Tofu, come quick! It's Ranma!" she yelled, sitting down
completely now as another wave of dizziness came over her. She felt so
weak; her limbs and muscles ached at the effort it had taken to get to
the floor.

The door to the room burst open, and a very confused and alarmed Dr.
Tofu immediately looked at the bed.

"Doctor!" When he looked down at her, and Ranma, he looked like he was
either going to be sick, or accuse himself of hallucinations.

"Wha...? Akane! What in the...but you were...what happened?" he said,
dropping a book that he had in his hands and kneeling down beside
Akane. Panic was still rising in her in waves; she struggled to keep
herself calm, and stop worrying, but her head was still rushing.

"I...he...I woke up, and he was there, on the ground. He...tried to do
something, to pull me out." she said, fighting to explain to him how
her own voice had told her what Ranma was doing.

_Wait...my own voice...my own...that wasn't...that thing wasn't another
being at all! That was..._

Her eyes went so wide at the sudden realization that they actually
moved away from Ranma, and her gaze fixed itself on the white wall
above the bed.

_It even said...it was me...I was the voice...but..._

"Akane," she heard Dr. Tofu say. Shaking her head, she turned to him,
and noted the worried look on his face.

"I know Ranma is hurt, and you're worried, and you just got back,
but...I just want you to lay down, right now. Okay? Get back in the
bed, and let me work." She tilted her head, then nodded,
understanding.

"R-right. Yes." But first she took another good, long look at Ranma's
face before climbing over him, and laying down on the bed. She
adjusted her pillow though, so she could still see the two of them,
and lay on her side, her eyes worried and firm.

_Ranma...you idiot...why did you have to..._

"He just wore out his own aura...I shouldn't have showed him that
trick...I should have known, with his stubbornness..." Dr. Tofu
trailed off, and Akane watched as he pressed the vital ki points,
getting his aura flowing again. His chest rose in a gasp, and Ranma
began to cough. Without even noticing that she had moved, Akane found
that she turned to her back again and was now sitting up, watching
Ranma intensely.

"Ugh...oh...man, that was...," Ranma said slowly, sitting up. Akane
watched excitedly as he rubbed his head, groaning.

"Ranma! Ranma are you alright? You idiot! You'd better be okay, or
I'll..." Her fiance's eyes immediately shot up to her own, and she saw
such a look of surprise and relief there that she was silenced.

"Are you alright Ranma? Can you stand?" asked Dr. Tofu, standing up
himself. The two ignored him completely as Ranma slowly stood, his
eyes still locked with Akane's.

_He's alright! At least...I think he is...oh, Ranma..._

Akane's heart fluttered as she watched him stand, watched his hands
shake as he looked at her.

"Okay, right, I should have known. I'll be in the hallway, shout for
me when you're over the shock, okay? And no sudden movements...either
of you." After a few seconds, Akane thought she heard a door close,
but she wasn't sure.

"Ranma..." Then she firmed her face, remembering what he had done.
"Why did you do that? You could have been hurt!" Ranma winced, then
shook his head, breaking the spell of their eyes.

"I...well...Dr. Tofu said it might...help..."

"Did he say for you to go into the nothingness too?" she asked, fairly
certain that he had not.

"No...but I didn't plan for that! Stupid. I was just trying to get you
out! I was...worried," he said, his voice small near the end. Akane
sighed, feeling relief wash over her.

"Ranma...," she said, pushing the anger out.

"What?" he asked, sounding like he was expecting another lecture.
Carefully, Akane swung her legs over the side of the bed, grabbing a
hold of Ranma's hand to help her balance. The dizzy spells were still
there, but she could cope. She had her real strength back now; her
martial artist's strength. Slowly she stood, feeling muscles complain
loudly, and looked up into his eyes.

"Thank you."

Then she hugged him fiercely, feeling tears of happiness fall down her
cheeks as she relished the feel of his warm, comforting body.

"A-Akane..."

"Shh...just for a little while...please...," she coaxed, not planning
on letting him go anytime soon.

Then slowly, nervously, she felt Ranma's arms raise around her back
and hold her as well. She sighed softly at the feeling, and pressed
her cheek harder against his shoulder.

_Ranma...thank you...thank you..._

Neither noticed the face of the doctor in the window of the door,
watching them, and chuckling to himself as though he had seen
something very funny.

* * *

Ranma woke up with a start to find that he was laying on the cold,
hard floor of the hospital room. His entire left side hurt as though
he had fallen hard, and his head throbbed dizzily. Groaning, he slowly
brought his hand up to his forehead, sitting up slowly.

"What the heck?...why am I.." He blinked, looking down at himself as
he sat on the floor. He felt alright, though his head was swimming
with blackness, wisps of green and red teasing him from the corner of
his eye. Green and red, like Christmas almost. But it wasn't
Christmas...it was...

"Akane!" Memory rushed to him, as he stood up, expecting to see Akane
awake and on the bed.

_But how did I get on the floor? She didn't hit me did she? She
wouldn't..._

The smile that he hadn't noticed on his face faltered, then
disappeared as he saw Akane laying on the bed, still out. The hand he
had been holding was hanging off the bed limply, and her body had
shifted as though he had accidently pulled her during the fall.
Feeling panic rise within him, he put her arm back on the bed, and
began shifting her shoulders, stroking her hair, tugging her arm,
trying to get her back awake.

"No! No, Akane, you were awake! You were, come back! No no no no..."
He didn't feel the tears come to his eyes as he madly continued to
shake her, calling her name, panting as he tried to revive her. But
Akane was still as gone to him as she had been earlier. Slowly,
depressingly, reality set on him; the real reality. Akane hadn't been
really there. It had been a dream, a hallucination.

"Akane! Dammit...you were...you were..." Letting out a gasp of air, he
leaned forward and, in a possessive display of affection, grabbed her
in a tight hug and shakily held her.

"I thought you were...back...," he whispered. Akane breathed silently
in his arms, and he sighed, feeling the sadness and frustration set in
again. He had failed. Dr. Tofu had given him a task, a possibility,
and it had failed, and now he was back again to square one. Wincing,
he sniffed, rubbing the tears from his eyes furiously.

"No...I was so...close...," he moaned, letting her go and standing up
straight again. The tears had stopped now, but he still shook, hard.
That had been even worse then the dream he had the other day; at least
there, he could stay in the sadness. But here...he had been happy. He
had felt relief. Then it was taken from him, ripped from his mind as
though it hadn't even been there.

"Akane...I won't fail you again. I'm getting you back. Dammit, Akane!"

He didn't notice the face of the doctor in the window of the door,
watching them, and frowning to himself as though he had seen something
very upsetting.

* * *

_What...the...hell...was...that??_ Akane roared in her own mind,
sensations leaving her. It seemed as though she had been hit, or
become suddenly dizzy. One moment, Ranma had been there. She had held
him, tightly, and felt him hold her too. Hold her
securely...comfortingly...

_Well? Where are you? Answer me! What was that!_ The voice didn't 
answer her, though. She didn't know if it was too scared of her rage, or
didn't know, or just didn't care.

_I was back! I was out there, with Ranma, and we were fine! I was
holding him, and he...and he..._

_Why did you do that? You said you were fading! Answer me, 
damn you!_

"...I was..."

_You were what? Speak up!_ She was relieved that it was actually there;
for a moment, she was scared that she really was alone this time. No
more Ranma, no more voice, just her, slowly descending into madness.

"I was fading...into you."

_...You were...what?_

"I am you, Akane. You figured it out, while you and Ranma were stuck
in the nothingness."

_The nothingness? That's where we were?_

"Yes...it caused you both to hallucinate...I think it was the same,
but I...don't know..." The voice sounded so sad now; her own voice,
and it was near crying. It stilled her anger, but she was still
confused, and hurt. Deeply hurt.

_But you're back..._

"Yes...I'm back..."

_Where's Ranma? Is he okay?_

"Ranma...he's..."

_Is he okay??_

"...He's holding you...me...and he's...Akane he's crying!"

The words stunned her into a brief silence.

"And he's wondering what went wrong, and yelling for us to come back,
and he's completely losing it!"

_Ranma is...crying...oh no...no no...Ranma..._ She felt her entire being
shudder as she longed to touch him, to comfort him. Ranma never cried.
Never, ever, cried...

"He needs us...he thought he could solve it...but he failed...

_No...no no no...._

"He tried...so hard..."

_And there's absolutely...nothing...you can do?_

"I...don't know anymore..."

_I...I see...oh, Ranma...you...you..._

And then the wave of blackness slowly, carefully, began to consume her
very thoughts.


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