[FFML] [R1/2] Hearts of Ice, 25/?

[Ignacio Moreno]

Hi.

I'm glad that you continue this work after so long. But I have a doubt. In
your website the part 24 is tagged as incomplete. So is there any other site
where I can read the part 24 or this part 25 continue from the incomplete
part 24 of your website??

Thanks for your help.

Kinai.

2009/5/14 Krista Fisk <kristaperry at comcast.net>

> Previous chapters can be found on my website at www.akane.org/heartsofice.
>
> C&C is welcome and appreciated.
>
>
> Hearts of Ice
> Part 25: Phoenix, Part II
> by Krista Fisk
>
>
>
>        Nabiki couldn’t believe it was over.  Not the
> way she had imagined it.  Oh no, quite the
> opposite.  For Ranma, instead of rescuing her
> sister and returning in triumph to defeat Cologne
> and save them all, was dead.  And Akane…
>
>        Akane was not trapped on the Ancient One’s
> mountain with Ranma’s corpse, as Nabiki had
> feared when she and Kuno found the Snow Woman
> weeping amidst the remains of her shattered
> mirror.  As the three of them rushed back to the
> clearing at the base of the mountain, using
> Yuki-onna’s frosted shard of mirror as a guide,
> they had witnessed Akane’s arrival.
>
>        They watched as she gently lowered Ranma’s body
> to the ground, and Nabiki felt her heart twist
> inside her as she realized that what they had
> hoped to prevent – Akane discovering Ranma’s
> death while utterly alone -- had happened anyway,
> even as she felt a surge of relief that at least
> Akane was off the damn mountain.
>
>        They heard her voice through the shard as she
> argued with Cologne, spurring them onward with a
> near panic-induced urgency, fearing the worst as
> Kuno determinedly hacked a path through the
> foliage before them.  They arrived at the
> clearing in time to witness the brief battle that
> left Nabiki and Kuno gaping in amazement; in time
> for Yuki-onna to save Akane from the old Amazon’s trap.
>
>        And now it was over.  Cologne was gone.
>
>        Akane was here, right before Nabiki’s
> eyes.  Taller.  Older.  Battle-scarred.  And as
> Akane finally looked away from where the Amazon
> had left the clearing, their eyes met, their
> gazes locked… and Nabiki realized with a shock
> that she didn’t know this woman.  She felt as if she was looking at a
> stranger.
>
>        But then Akane blinked.  The ageless,
> obsidian-hard edge of ice faded from her eyes as
> they grew bright with a sheen of tears.  She took
> a step forward, inhaling sharply, her lips trembling, and said, “Nabiki.”
>
>        And Nabiki knew at that moment that whatever
> else happened, her sister was back, and she
> didn’t even care that Kuno, Ukyo, Ryoga and
> Mousse were staring, she was there hugging her
> sister, and Akane clutched at her, crying into
> her hair because she was taller than her now, and
> it didn’t matter because her face was wet too.
>
>        “You’re back,” Nabiki found herself whispering
> over and over, until Akane finally laughed through her tears.
>
>        “Thanks to you,” Akane said, hugging so tightly
> that Nabiki almost had to gasp for breath for a
> moment.  “Yuki-onna showed me.  Cologne would
> have succeeded if you hadn’t been there to thwart
> her at every turn.  And Ranma never would have
> known how to find me if you hadn’t helped him so much.”
>
>        Nabiki stiffened at the mention of Ranma, and
> she drew back.  “Akane,” she said… and then she
> found herself at a loss for words.  What could
> she say?  Akane knew Ranma was dead, and even as
> Nabiki looked at her, a dawning look of horror spread across Akane’s face.
>
>        “No!” Akane said, releasing Nabiki and looking
> back at where she had left Ranma’s body, lying at
> the edge of the clearing.  Nabiki braced herself
> for a fresh onset of grief in the face of the harsh reality of Ranma’s
> death.
>
>        But, to Nabiki’s great surprise, Akane was still
> smiling through her tears.  “No,” she said again,
> and she was shaking her head and waving her hands
> in front of her as she backed towards Ranma’s
> body.  “I need to explain.  I know what it looks like, but Ranma’s not
> dead!”
>
>        Nabiki felt a sudden sick sense of dread, and
> she glanced over at Yuki-onna to see what she was
> making of this.  The devastated look on the Snow
> Woman’s face as she looked at Akane didn’t
> comfort her in the least.  Had her sister
> returned, only to be driven over the edge of
> sanity by Ranma’s death?  It was a thought echoed
> in the worried expressions of the others in the
> clearing, human and animal alike.
>
>        Apparently Akane was not oblivious to their
> concern, because she stopped.  “Well, yes,” she
> said, looking a bit flustered.  “I mean, he *is*
> dead.  That’s obvious, isn’t it.  I mean….”  She
> straightened and took a deep breath, looking
> around at each of them in the clearing.  “Look,
> I’m not crazy.  I can explain.  But first….”  She
> looked at Yuki-onna and once again blinked back a
> wash of tears.  “I’m so glad you’re here,” she
> said, walking over to the Snow Woman and taking
> her white hand.  “I don’t know how or why, but you are… and I need your
> help.”
>
>        “Anything, Akane-chan.” The Snow Woman’s voice
> was low and broken.  “Anything.”
>
>        Akane led the Snow Woman by the hand to Ranma’s
> body.  Shakily, she knelt down next to him and
> the Snow Woman followed suit.  “It hasn’t been
> very long,” she whispered, and her voice carried
> in the silence of the clearing.  “But I felt it
> when I held him; his body is already… he’s…”
>
>        Yuki-onna understood.  “I will preserve him,”
> she said, and Akane nodded tightly, tears
> spilling down her cheeks.  Nabiki felt the knot
> of worry loosen slightly at the sight.  Akane
> didn’t seem crazy, and she was grieving.  And she
> was thinking logically.  She hadn’t known that
> the Snow Woman would be here, but she wasn’t so
> shaken that she couldn’t ask for some much-needed
> help.  Whatever she meant about Ranma not being
> dead… well, she said she would explain.
>
>        As the Snow Woman spread her hands over Ranma’s
> pale, prone form, Nabiki found herself feeling
> immensely grateful that the winter spirit had
> come.  She couldn’t even begin to imagine what it
> would be like, trekking the three day hike back
> through the wilderness to civilization with Ranma’s slowly decaying body…
>
>        She shuddered, but then a soft moan tore her
> attention away from her morbid thoughts.
>
>        Ukyo, still gagged and bound to the tree, had
> tears coursing down her face as she stared at
> Ranma’s body.  Nabiki immediately went to her,
> feeling guilty.  She had been so wrapped up with
> her own reunion with Akane, she had forgotten
> almost everyone else.  “Ukyo,” she said, and Ukyo
> turned her face away, muffled sobs escaping
> through the gag.  Nabiki understood and didn’t
> question… but she couldn’t just leave Ukyo tied
> up.  She looked at Ukyo’s bonds and realized that
> there was no way she could undo the ropes herself.  “Kuno,” she called.
>
>        Kuno only let his gaze linger briefly on Akane
> and the Snow Woman as they knelt over Ranma’s
> body, before walking over to Nabiki.  He
> understood what she wanted and severed Ukyo’s
> bonds with a slash of his bokken, then freed
> P-Chan from his dangling rope prison as
> well.  “We need some hot water,” Nabiki said,
> pointing toward their backpacks at one edge of
> the clearing.  “Ryoga packed a kettle.”
>
>        Kuno nodded at Nabiki, then looked down at the
> despondent black piglet, and the duck that
> hovered protectively beside the unconscious
> cat.  They looked back at him suspiciously.  Kuno
> cleared his throat.  “I will gather your clothes
> also, if you wish,” he said with solemn dignity.
>
>        Ryoga and Mousse shared an uncertain glance,
> before peering back at the changed
> Kendoist.  Ryoga nodded hesitantly.  Kuno offered
> him a small bow and started on his task, leaving
> the piglet and duck staring after him with wide,
> surprised eyes.  Ryoga looked to Nabiki and bweed
> in a manner that could have easily been
> interpreted as “What the hell?” but Nabiki was
> focused on Ukyo, helping her untie the gag.
>
>        Ukyo coughed and spit once the gag was removed,
> rubbed the back of her hand across her lips, and
> wiped a bit ineffectually at her face with her
> sleeve.  She still didn’t look directly at
> Nabiki, but didn’t refuse her outstretched hand
> offered to help her to her feet.
>
>        “Ukyo,” Nabiki said, and Ukyo cut her off with a raised hand.
>
>        “Don’t tell me it’s going to be okay,” Ukyo
> whispered hoarsely.  “It’s not okay.  Nothing is okay.”
>
>        “Actually,” Nabiki said gently, “I was going to
> ask if you would stoke the campfire so that we could boil some water.”
>
>        Ukyo looked at her sharply then, all her
> frustration and anger and grief open and raw and exposed in her face.
>
>        Nabiki wanted to wince, but her mask was in
> place and she gazed back at Ukyo calmly until the
> rawness in her expression softened
> slightly.  Finally, Ukyo shakily put her face in
> her hands, rubbed at her tears, and
> nodded.  “Yeah,” she said, muffled, then she
> lowered her hands and looked up.  “Yeah, I can do that.”
>
>        Nabiki nodded, reaching out and giving Ukyo’s
> hand a little squeeze.  *You’re right, it’s not
> okay, everything is wrong and backwards and
> twisted all out of shape, but we’ll get through
> this so hang in there,* was the unspoken
> message.  Ukyo squeezed back briefly, then headed for the campfire.
>
>        Nabiki turned to start collecting water from
> their supplies when Akane said, anxiously, “Why
> isn’t it working?” and all attention again turned
> towards the pair kneeling over Ranma’s corpse.  “What’s wrong, Yuki-san?”
>
>        The Snow Woman’s eyes were closed, and her brow
> was furrowed as she held her outstretched hands
> over Ranma’s body.  “There is magic,” she
> said.  “Powerful magic that is blocking my cold
> spell.”  She opened her eyes and seemed to wilt
> slightly.  “I cannot get past it.  I am sorry,
> Akane-chan.  I am too weak here.”  Visibly
> perplexed, she reached toward Ranma’s neck, her
> hand hovering over his grey-skinned throat for a
> moment, before she reached down  and pulled at
> the stiff collar of his red Chinese
> shirt.  Nabiki caught a glimpse of shiny metal
> underneath.  “Ah,” said the Snow Woman.  “This is the source.”
>
>        Akane leaned forward and gently pulled the
> collar back, revealing a skin-tight band of metal
> encircling Ranma’s neck.  “What is *that*?” Akane
> asked, looking upset and confused.  “Ranma didn’t say anything about this.”
>
>        Nabiki felt her eyebrows raise by reflex, and
> her worries about Akane’s sanity began to
> reassert themselves.  How long had Akane been on
> the mountain, alone with Ranma’s corpse, before
> the mysterious whirlwind brought her here?  She
> didn’t miss the worried glance that the Snow Woman gave her as well.
>
>        “It is of oni make,” the Snow Woman
> answered.  “It has the taint of fire devil about
> it, and it seems to… to serve the same purpose as
> my cold spell once did.”  Her voice lowered with
> shame, but she continued.  “Only instead of
> blocking heat from reaching him, this metal band blocks cold.”
>
>        Akane’s eyes widened.  “A cure?” she whispered.  “For Jusenkyo?”
>
>        “So it seems,” the Snow Woman replied.
>
>        The words fell into the silence of the clearing
> and seemed to reverberate for a moment.  And
> then, behind Nabiki, Mousse and Ryoga began
> quacking and bweeing loudly, making such a racket
> in the quiet clearing that she whirled around and
> glared at them.  Cure or not, now was *not* the
> time for celebrating, or demanding, or whatever
> the hell it was they were doing.  They got the
> message quick and immediately fell silent and
> still, looking as ashamed as duck and pig could possibly look.
>
>        Akane was reaching around Ranma’s neck, feeling
> all around the band.  Nabiki marveled that she
> managed to be so calm and collected about the
> whole situation.  “There’s no clasp, no seam in
> the metal,” Akane said.  She stood, pulling her
> sword from its scabbard.  “I don’t know how it
> got on, but it needs to come off, or you won’t be able to…”
>
>        The Snow Woman nodded, then reached over to pull
> Ranma’s collar away from the metal band.
>
>        Akane lifted her sword, then paused.  “Will cutting it off destroy
> its magic?”
>
>        “I do not know,” the Snow Woman answered, “but it is a possibility.”
>
>        A very quiet, dismayed bwee escaped P-chan, and
> Akane looked at him.  “I’m sorry, Ryoga,” she
> said with genuine regret.  With those words, the
> little black piglet froze, staring at Akane in
> horror, and paled until he was so grey that it
> looked like he might faint.  Nabiki had to fight
> very hard to not let the shock show on her face.  Akane *knew*?
>
>        “I know a cure is important,” she continued,
> “but this… I can’t let his body get worse without
> him.  He’s going to need it when he gets back,
> and I honestly don’t know how it’s going to work,
> but I’m pretty sure that letting his body go
> through rigor mortis isn’t conducive to whatever
> he has to do to come back to life.”
>
>        Now *everyone* was staring at Akane in
> horror.  Slowly, the Snow Woman reached out and
> touched Akane’s arm.  “Akane,” she said, “why
> don’t you explain to us what you mean.”
>
>        Akane suddenly looked uncertain as she met their
> gazes.  But then she straightened.  With a flash
> of her katana, the metal circlet surrounding
> Ranma’s neck fell in two pieces.  Akane picked up
> the pieces and gestured to Ranma.  “Please,
> Yuki-san,” she said, and the Snow Woman nodded,
> stretching her hands out once again.  This time,
> Nabiki could immediately see the frost forming on
> the surface of Ranma’s dead, grey skin, and she
> looked away, feeling disconcerted and upset,
> seeing that emotion mirrored in Kuno’s face, in
> Ukyo’s face, even in Mousse’s bird eyes.  Ryoga
> still looked like he was on the verge of passing out.
>
>        She didn’t even realize that Akane had come up
> behind her until she felt the touch on her
> arm.  “Nabiki,” Akane said, “why don’t you go
> ahead and get that water?  I’m cold.  I’m going
> to sit by the fire.”  She looked over at Ukyo,
> who was throwing a sturdy log on the blaze,
> sending sparks up into the night sky.  Ukyo met
> her gaze for a moment, then looked away,
> firelight glinting off the wetness in her eyes.
>
>        Akane closed her eyes briefly as if in pain for
> a moment, then looked at Mousse, still next to
> Shampoo.  “Can you wake her up?” she
> asked.  Mousse indicated that he would try, but
> seemed uncertain.  Akane nodded.  “When everyone
> is ready,” she said, “come sit with me and I’ll
> tell you what happened to me on the mountain.”
>
>        It took longer than Nabiki’s patience – already
> stretched thin with stress and worry – was
> prepared to allow, but she dealt with it.  Mousse
> managed to wake Shampoo, and once the water was
> hot, the Jusenkyo-cursed slipped out of the
> clearing to change back to human form and get
> dressed.  Mousse had the unfortunate task of
> bringing Shampoo up to speed with everything that
> had happened since Cologne had tapped her
> unconscious, and the stream of Mandarin
> conversation emanating from the darkness outside
> the clearing was punctuated with Shampoo’s cries
> of grief and despair.  Eventually they
> emerged.  Shampoo did not look up, and she
> stumbled as if blind.  She would have fallen but
> for Mousse’s protective arm around her shoulder as he led her to the
> campfire.
>
>        Akane sat and stared into the fire through it
> all as one by one, her friends who had sacrificed
> so much to bring her back from the Kami realm
> joined her around the fire.  Only Yuki-onna,
> after finishing her grim task, stayed outside the
> circle of the fire’s warmth, standing guard by Ranma’s frozen body.
>
>        Nabiki noticed that none of them – Ryoga, Ukyo,
> Kuno, Mousse or Shampoo – could bring themselves
> to look at Akane.  Akane didn’t seem to notice,
> but Nabiki had to wonder if anything at all
> escaped her notice now.  Once again, looking at
> her sister stare into the flames, she felt like
> she was looking at a stranger, and she shivered.
>
>        “On the mountain,” Akane said at last, “there is
> a dimensional weakness between the
> planes.  Through it, demons can escape from the
> Kami realm into this world, but the Ancient One
> uses this barrier to keep them trapped on the
> mountain so they can’t wreak havoc on the mortal realm.”
>
>        She continued, explaining how the Shadowcat had
> lured her to the weakness in the veil between the
> planes with his promise to recapture Ranma.  She
> told of how she called to Ranma, fearing him lost
> in the Nekoken; how she used the dagger of
> Susa-no-o to rend the veil and survive even with
> the blood spell still intact.  She told of
> regaining consciousness to hear Ranma’s voice
> calling her, of how he told her the Shadowcat was
> dead, but there was something terrible in his
> voice, and she knew he was hurt.  How he left her
> with the promise that he would break the blood spell.
>
>        And then it was broken.  And she came through
> the veil and the blood spell was gone, and the
> Shadowcat lay dead at her feet in pieces, in
> shreds, and Ranma’s trail of blood led up the
> mountain and she was so afraid that he was dead…
>
>        …but then he was there.  Talking to
> her.  Arguing with her.  Being utterly,
> infuriatingly Ranma until he finally confessed
> that he *was* dead.  He was a ghost.  A kuei,
> doomed to haunt the mountain like the other
> hungry ghosts that dwelled at its base, and
> Shampoo cried out in anguish, and Ukyo wept
> silently, and Ryoga and Mousse and Kuno sat staring grimly into the flames.
>
>        Akane waited until Shampoo’s audible grief
> subsided before she continued.  She told of how
> she and Ranma determined a course of
> action.  They would confront the Ancient One of
> course, and for the first time the listeners
> looked up from the flames at Akane, looks of
> incredulous hope kindled in their
> expressions.  She told of walking up the mountain
> with Ranma’s ghost; of finding his body just
> outside the Ancient One’s cave.  Of going into
> the cave and up the staircase to the gardens
> under the great pillars that held up the domain
> of the gods.  Of confronting the Ancient One.  Of
> telling him their most heartfelt desire, and him
> at last giving them an inkling of how it might be
> done. That it *could* be done.  Of Ranma being
> released from his kuei curse and then being
> spirited away to the afterlife where he was
> currently on his way to confront Emma-O and demand his life back.
>
>        “And then the Ancient One sent me here,” Akane
> said.  “And, well, you know the rest.”
>
>        Only then did she look up to meet the confounded
> gazes of her friends.  “So like I said.”  She
> smiled, and Nabiki, her head still whirling with
> all the information, once again saw her little
> sister in this tall, battle-hardened warrior
> woman.  “Ranma might be dead at the moment,”
> Akane said, “but he’s not going to stay that
> way.  He promised me that he’d find a way to come
> back, and if anyone can do it, he can.”
>
>        There was a long silence as everyone seemed to
> digest what Akane had told them.  Nabiki felt her
> mind whirling with questions, but it was Ukyo who
> spoke first.  “So,” she said.  Her eyes were
> still wet, but her voice and expression were firm
> and determined.  “What do we do next, Akane?  What can we do to help?”
>
>        Akane looked up in surprise at the okonomiyaki
> chef, her former rival, and smiled, the gratitude
> and relief on her face plain to see, and for the
> first time Nabiki realized that Akane was worried
> about this very thing.  “To be honest,” she said,
> “I don’t really know.  I have no idea how long it
> will take Ranma to… well, work things out on his end.”
>
>        Kuno cleared his throat.  “If I may make a
> suggestion,” he said quietly, “since we have no
> idea how long Ranma’s journey back from the dead
> may take, we should camp for the night and begin
> the journey back to Japan tomorrow.  Am I correct
> in guessing that it does not matter where Ranma’s
> physical form is, for him to complete his return?” he asked Akane.
>
>        Akane blinked at him.  She blinked again, looked
> at Nabiki questioningly, then back at Kuno as if
> he’d grown another head.  Kuno bore her scrutiny
> patiently.  “I… I think so,” she said at last,
> “or the Ancient One wouldn’t have essentially
> sent me on my way.  I was going to suggest
> something similar…”  She peered at Kuno again,
> obviously trying to figure out just who was this
> strange man with Kuno’s face.  Nabiki decided to put Akane out of her
> misery.
>
>        “Kuno has seen the light,” she told her
> sister.  “He finally gets it – all of it.  He’s a changed man.”
>
>        Akane looked at Kuno in open astonishment, even
> as the others gaped at him as well.  “You’re
> kidding,” said Ukyo.  “I wondered what the hell
> had happened to him.  I thought maybe Cologne had
> knocked him on the head too hard.”  Kuno looked
> at her, and she had the decency to blush for
> referring to him in the third person right in
> front of him.  “Er, sorry Kuno,” she
> said.  “Akane coming back five years older was a
> shock, but I never thought you’d finally…”
>
>        “No apology necessary,” Kuno said.  “It is I who
> should be apologizing to all of you.”  And
> sensing the opportune moment, he rose from his
> seat, then bowed deeply before them.  “I would be
> most gratified if you all would accept my
> humblest apologies for the atrocities I have
> committed in the past for the sake of my mad
> delusions.  I have treated all of you most
> poorly… you especially, Akane, and Ranma most of
> all.  I shall do whatever is required to make
> proper restitution, no matter how long it takes,
> and I do so with the hope that I will also be
> able to offer this apology to Ranma once he has
> regained his flesh.  This is my vow.”
>
>        Akane was left speechless, her mouth hanging
> open slightly.  Nabiki once again came to the
> rescue. “And she accepts your apology.  Don’t you, sis?”
>
>        Akane nodded.  “Thank you, Kuno,” she said
> finally.  “And thank you for what you have
> already done in providing the means for this rescue mission.”
>
>        Kuno merely bowed his head in acknowledgement.
>
>        “Well, then,” said Ukyo, getting to her
> feet.  “If we’re really heading back tomorrow,
> I’m going to start making camp.”  As she walked
> toward the supplies, Nabiki watched her,
> wondering just how much of Ukyo’s newfound
> composure was real, and how much of it was just
> keeping busy for the sake of sanity.
>
>        It had been a hell of a day.
>
>        “Akane,” said Mousse.  Shampoo was sitting close
> to him, her hands in her lap, her head bowed,
> eyes overshadowed by her hair.  “If you would
> grant us this request… Shampoo and I would like
> to build a litter for bearing… for bearing Ranma back to Japan.”
>
>        Akane nodded wordlessly, tears standing out in
> her eyes.  Then she stood and walked over to the
> pair, leaned over, put her hand on Shampoo’s
> shoulder and whispered something between them
> that Nabiki could not hear.  Shampoo slumped
> over, put her face in her hands and wept, and
> Mousse held her tighter, but as Akane walked
> away, Nabiki could see that Mousse was smiling at her.
>
>        Nabiki stood and joined her as she walked to the
> edge of the clearing.  “What did you say?” she
> asked, burning with curiosity, but Akane just
> smiled and shrugged.  Nabiki rolled her eyes and
> sighed, but wasn’t really all that put out.  “You
> haven’t changed all that much, you know,” she said wryly.
>
>        “Neither have you,” said Akane.  “Trying to eavesdrop.”
>
>        “Hey, if I had been really trying, I would have succeeded.”
>
>        Akane laughed, and Nabiki felt warmed to see
> genuine mirth in her eyes.  But almost
> immediately, Akane’s eyes clouded over
> again.  “Wait,” she said, frowning.  “Where’s Ryoga?”
>
>        Nabiki whirled and scanned the clearing.  Ryoga
> was nowhere to be seen.  The Lost Boy had flown
> the coop right under their noses, and she cursed
> herself for not paying more attention to
> him.  She should have seen this coming.  “Akane, he thinks—“
>
>        “I know what he thinks,” Akane said, “and he’s
> wrong.  Damn it.  Don’t worry, I’ll find
> him.”  And with that, Akane disappeared into the
> thick foliage at the edge of the clearing.
>
>        Ukyo came up behind Nabiki, peering out into the
> forest.  “I didn’t even see him go,” she said.  “That idiot.”
>
>        Nabiki snorted.  “Can you blame him?”
>
>        “He should have told us about his curse.  He
> especially should have told Akane.”
>
>        Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  “So you’re saying
> that if you had a curse that would have allowed
> you to get closer to Ranma in ways you otherwise
> couldn’t, you wouldn’t have taken advantage of that?”
>
>        Ukyo turned away, her lips pressed tight, tears bright in her eyes.
>
>        Nabiki mentally kicked herself.  “I’m sorry, Ukyo.  That wasn’t
> fair.”
>
>        “It was perfectly fair.  You’re right, Nabiki,
> I’m hardly one to be criticizing Ryoga right
> now.”  She sighed.  “I’m actually jealous.  He
> had the guts to actually run away from… from all
> this.  I don’t even know why I’m still here.”
>
>        “Yes you do,” said Nabiki, and Ukyo turned on
> her with almost defiant challenge in her
> gaze.  “You stay,” Nabiki continued, “because in
> spite of all the pain you’re in right now, in
> spite of feeling like you’ve lost everything,
> you’re still a good person who can’t just walk out on her friends.”
>
>        Ukyo’s glare softened.  “Are you sure it’s not
> just because I know that if I took off right now,
> in the middle of the Chinese wilderness, I’d get just as lost as Ryoga?”
>
>        “Maybe a little of that too,” Nabiki said
> mildly.  “But my first point still stands.”
>
>        Ukyo just sighed and shook her head.
>
>        “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about
> something,” Nabiki said.  “I figured I could talk
> to you about it when we got to Japan, but I
> suppose there’s no reason we can’t talk about it now.”
>
>        Ukyo looked at her, curious and suspicious all
> at once at the sudden strange shift in the conversation.  “What?” she said.
>
>        Nabiki tilted her head, smiling
> enigmatically.  “Just something to think
> about.  One word, really.  And you don’t have to
> decide right away.  We can talk about it more when we get back to Japan.”
>
>        Now Ukyo was really perplexed.  “What?  What one word?  Just tell
> me!”
>
>        Nabiki leaned forward and whispered, “Franchise.”
>
>        Ukyo blinked.  Then, almost in spite of herself,
> she laughed and shook her head.  “You want to go into business with me?”
>
>        Nabiki shrugged and said, “What else do we have to do when we get
> back?”
>
>        Ukyo didn’t have an answer for that, and just
> snorted.  But the half smile she gave Nabiki
> before turning back to setting up camp was the
> first genuine smile Nabiki had seen on her face
> since before the whole blood spell mess began.
>
>        Nabiki looked over to the other side of the
> clearing where the Snow Woman knelt by Ranma’s
> frozen body.  Everyone was giving them a wide
> berth, but the Snow Woman didn’t seem to
> mind.  She sat with her eyes closed, one hand
> resting gently on Ranma’s forehead.
>
>        Nabiki had finished setting up her own tent, and
> Ukyo had set up the rest of the camp and had
> started cooking okonomiyaki, filling the clearing
> with delicious smells, when Akane finally
> returned with Ryoga.  They both looked like they
> had been crying, Nabiki couldn’t help but notice,
> but the look of utter devastation had left the
> Lost Boy’s countenance, though he still looked far from happy.
>
>        “There,” Akane said as they entered the
> clearing, and her tone and her manner struck
> Nabiki as being almost motherly.  “See,
> everything’s fine, nobody’s mad.”  She said it in
> a way that clearly indicated that if, in fact,
> anyone *was* mad at Ryoga for his disappearing
> act, they needed to chill the hell out
> immediately.  “Now don’t worry about it.  You
> should get something to eat, and then try to get some sleep, okay?”
>
>        Ryoga nodded, not quite looking at her.  As she
> turned away, heading towards the Snow Woman, he
> reached out and caught her hand in a bold gesture
> that amazed Nabiki, and she would have stared if
> she hadn’t been trying to be so discreet in her observation.
>
>        “Akane-san,” Ryoga said, his voice low and hoarse.  “Thank you.”
>
>        Akane just smiled.  “What are friends for?”
>
>        Ryoga muttered something that Nabiki couldn’t hear.
>
>        “Yes,” Akane said, gently but firmly.  “We are,
> and don’t forget it.”  She took him by the
> shoulder and pushed him toward where Ukyo was
> cooking and trying very hard not to stare at
> them.  “Now go eat.  Get some rest.”  This time
> he obeyed.  When he reached Ukyo, he looked at
> her, took a deep breath, and said something
> softly that must have been an apology of some
> kind, because Ukyo accepted it with a nod and a dismissive shrug.
>
>        “It’s okay,” Ukyo said, flipping him a fresh
> okonomiyaki that he caught between two
> fingers.  “Might have done the same in your
> shoes, hon.  Don’t beat yourself up over
> it.”  Ryoga gave her a small, grateful smile.
>
>        Nabiki missed the rest of their conversation as
> she got up and moved to intercept Akane on her
> way over to the Snow Woman.  “Okay,” she said in
> a conspiratorial whisper.  “You have to tell me
> what happened when you found Ryoga.”
>
>        “Nothing that you haven’t already guessed,”
> Akane said in her new, infuriatingly calm
> manner.  Nabiki grit her teeth.  This new aspect
> of Akane was going to take some getting used
> to.  She was about to ask Akane what exactly she
> thought she had guessed, when Akane turned to her
> and said, “Hey, Nabiki, can you help me
> out?  I’ve got some wounds that need cleaning and
> dressing.  My foot and my back, mostly.  Do you have a minute?”
>
>        Nabiki couldn’t help but admire Akane’s deft
> change of subject, even as she laughed at the
> absurdity of the question.  “Do I have a
> minute?  I come traipsing across half a continent
> just to get you back, and now that you *are*
> back, you have to ask me that?  Follow me, I’ve got a complete first aid
> kit.”
>
>        They went into her tent, closed the flaps, and
> Akane carefully stripped off her upper tunic and
> her boots, hissing in pain as she inadvertently
> reopened wounds.  Nabiki looked at her, feeling
> herself pale slightly.  “What,” she asked, “in the hell did that to you?”
>
>        “Spider demon,” Akane said, turning her back to
> Nabiki so that she could have better access to
> the deep, thin slices scattered across her
> back.  “Had really spiky – Ow! Dammit, take it
> easy,” she griped as Nabiki poured half her
> bottle of rubbing alcohol over the worst of the cuts.
>
>        “Big baby,” Nabiki chided.  “Don’t worry, the
> worst is over.  Now hold still.  You squirm around like a toddler.”
>
>        “Only because you have the bedside manner of a
> rabid weasel,” Akane retorted, but Nabiki could
> hear the smile in her voice.  Nabiki surprised
> herself at being able to keep up a constant
> stream of teasing banter that was only barely
> holding back the horror of what she saw on her
> sister’s back as she cleaned off the dried
> blood.  Beneath the fresh wounds, old
> scars.  Deep scars.  Scars that looked like they
> might once have been life threatening.  And
> still, they were chatting, ribbing each other
> back and forth as if they were little kids, back
> at the dojo, and Akane had come to her because
> she had tripped and sprained her ankle or had
> gotten a sliver in her finger.  And of course,
> she only came to Nabiki if Kasumi was off running
> errands, and Nabiki always pretended to be put
> out, but her big secret was that she liked those
> few times when Akane had come to her and she got
> to play nurse for her violent tomboy little sister….
>
>        …and she didn’t realize that she had stopped and
> that she was crying until Akane turned, wiped the
> tears from her cheek with her hand, and pulled
> her forward until their foreheads were resting
> against each other.  Akane was crying too, but
> she was saying, “It’s okay, Nabiki.  It’s over, and I’m okay.”
>
>        It took Nabiki a few minutes to collect herself
> again, and then, when she resumed cleaning
> Akane’s wounds, including a nasty puncture wound
> in her foot that Dr. Tofu would definitely need
> to take a look at when they got home, she did so
> in silence, struggling to get her mask back in
> place.  Akane didn’t seem to mind.
>
>        When she was through, she showed Akane that
> she’d brought along some of her clothes that she
> could change into, but they both quickly realized
> that Akane no longer fit in any of her old
> clothes.  “I’m going to have to go shopping for…
> for everything,” Akane said.  “Daddy’s going to have a fit.”
>
>        “Not this time, I think,” Nabiki said.
>
>        Akane ended up wearing a change of Nabiki’s
> clothes, which, while still too small, was at
> least more comfortable.  She still had to wear her bloodied boots, though.
>
>        Nabiki fished out a comb and brush from her pack
> and, without being asked, attacked the tangled
> mane of Akane’s hair.  At first Akane protested,
> but it was only a half-hearted protest, and they
> sat together in companionable silence while
> Nabiki worked away the knots and tangles and combed out the dried blood.
>
>        “Wow,” Nabiki said when she was finally
> finished.  “You’re hair’s longer than Kasumi’s.”
>
>        Akane fingered a lock of her hair
> distractedly.  “I wonder if I should cut it when I get home.”
>
>        Nabiki shook her head.  “Wait,” she said.  “Wait
> until… until Ranma gets back.”
>
>        Akane nodded.  “You’re right.  I will.”  She
> stood and stretched as best she could in the
> small confines of the tent.  “Thanks, Nabiki.  I feel so much better.”
>
>        “Any time,” she said, meaning it.  “You aren’t
> sleeping in here?” she asked, as Akane lifted the
> flap to leave the tent.  “Ukyo and I got a three
> person tent so you’d have a place to sleep on the way home.”
>
>        “That’s okay,” she replied.  “There’s no way I
> can sleep my first night back home.  I’m going to
> stay with Yuki-san and Ranma for a while.”
>
>        The flap fell, and Nabiki laid down on her
> sleeping bag.  She found herself staring up at
> the tent ceiling feeling utterly exhausted, and
> utterly incapable of falling asleep.  But she
> didn’t get up.  She lay there, listening to the
> noises of her friends moving around the camp
> outside, and simply enjoyed the feeling of being
> at peace for the first time in a long, long time.
>
>
> -------------------------------------
>
>
>        Akane knew that Yuki-onna felt her silent
> approach, because as she drew close, the Snow
> Woman opened her eyes, smiled sadly at her, and
> made room so that she could take a seat beside
> her in the vigil over Ranma’s frozen body.  They
> sat in silence, watching as her friends
> eventually set up their tents and attempted to
> get some sleep.  At one point, Kuno approached
> her and offered her his tent, informing her that
> he and Ryoga had agreed to share a tent, but she
> smiled and thanked him (silently boggling at the
> idea of Ryoga and Kuno coming to such an
> agreement), and politely refused.  Kuno accepted
> the refusal reluctantly but graciously.  She
> couldn’t help but shake her head as he walked
> away.  If anyone had asked, she thought she might
> be hard pressed to declare which of the two of
> them had been more changed by this whole adventure.
>
>        She wondered just how much sleep anyone would
> get, if any, but then the sound of light snoring
> drifted from the tents in the clearing,
> confirming that her friends were getting a little sleep at least.
>
>        “Yuki-san,” she said finally.
>
>        “Yes, Akane-chan.”
>
>        “Ranma promised that he would come back to
> me.  That he would defeat death itself to return to me.”
>
>        “Yes.”
>
>        “I believe he will do it.  I think he will succeed.”
>
>        “As do I.”
>
>        “But…” she said.  Her voice cracked,
> trembled.  “But there is a small, infinitesimal chance that…”
>
>        Yuki-onna remained silent.
>
>        “How long…” She swallowed, cleared her throat
> and struggled against tears.  Altogether too much
> crying today.  “How long do I wait?  How will I
> know if the reason he hasn’t yet returned is
> because he is still striving for success, or… because he has failed?”
>
>        “There is no way to know,” Yuki-onna
> whispered.  “Even if I still had my mirror, the
> realm of the dead has always been blocked to my view.”
>
>        “So.”  Akane digested this silently.  “I just wait.”
>
>        “Yes.”
>
>        Akane looked up at small patch of sky visible
> through the clearing.  The peak of the Mountain
> of the Ancient One was just barely visible
> through the clouds.  Every now and then, as the
> cloud masses shifted in their dance across the
> sky, she caught a glimmer of starlight.
>
>        “Forever, then,” she said.  “If that’s what it takes.”
>
>        Yuki-onna closed her eyes.
>
>        Akane reached out and took Ranma’s stiff, frozen
> hand in hers, refusing to flinch from the
> cold.  “You hear that, you stubborn, insensitive
> jerk?” she whispered.  “I’ll wait for you forever.”
>
>        There was no response.  Akane held his cold,
> unmoving hand until the growing pale light of
> dawn began to obliterate the stars from the sky.
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
>
> Next:  Ranma and Emma-O.
>
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
> Author’s Notes:
>
> This scene was pretty much the only thing
> standing between me and finishing this
> ever-unfinished fic.  It was just too freaking
> intimidating.  Too many characters in one spot,
> too much to talk about, blah blah blah… I kept
> looking at what I needed to do to continue the
> fic and balked every time I thought about sitting
> down and working on it.  And now, after, what, 8
> years?  9 or maybe even 10 years of writer’s
> block, something finally shook loose and I wrote this in two days.
>
> As for what shook it loose, I think it’s just
> amazement that even after all this time, people
> still care enough about this story to write me
> encouragement.  I finally decided to post the
> Prologue to Fanfiction.net where HoI has been
> moldering since I posted it there in 2001, and
> over the next hour, I got 55 emails from people
> jumping with glee just because I updated and
> proved I was still alive, some from people
> cursing me for getting their hopes up that there was actually something
> new.
>
> So I sat down, told my writer’s block “screw
> you,” and wrote this.  And tomorrow I start on the next scene.
>
> I hope it doesn’t suck.
>
> Thanks, everyone, for reading.
>
> -Krista Fisk
> 5/13/2009
>
>         .-------Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List--------.
>         |   Administrators - ffml-admins at chez-vrolet.net   |
>         |   Unsubscribing - ffml-request at chez-vrolet.net   |
>         |         Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject         |
>         `----- FAQ http://chez-vrolet.net/ffml/faq.txt ----'
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.chez-vrolet.net/pipermail/ffml/attachments/20090519/3a711088/attachment.htm