Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns all rights to Ranma ½. I merely wrote this for my own entertainment and, if I'm lucky, the entertainment of others as well.

Summary: Ranma defeats Saffron at Jusenkyo, but just a little too late; Akane doesn't wake up. Instead, she must fight a battle of her own in order to return to everything - and everyone - she loves.

The Long Road

I wanted to tell you I love you!

"Akane!" his voice tore through the silence, his sorrow reverberating off of the cliffs surrounding them.

But Akane did not stir.

Ranma gazed at her pale, lifeless form in his arms, and felt an emptiness he had never known before.

When he had first seen her disappear, when she had been dehydrated into a doll, he was too numb to know anything like pain. Everything was just...blank. The misery had merely seeped in through the cracks of his broken heart as he held her clothes - all that seemingly remained of her - in his hands. When the Guide revealed she was, in fact, still alive, Ranma had been filled with hope. He realized now just how much he had taken her for granted. Taken them for granted. Assumed that it was impossible for anything other than a happy ending. Every moment Akane spent as a doll brought danger, but with it remained a constant thrum of optimism coursing through him.

Any minute now Akane, I'll get the cold cursed water for you and we can be together again!

But they didn't have minutes, did they?

He had failed her completely. Ranma had never felt such an utter sense of defeat before in his life. Not because of the battle. Cruelly, he knew he had won the battle - but at what cost? He would rather suffer defeat at every turn than to have Akane hurt for his sake.

Die for his sake.

Ranma gently lifted his fiancee's pale, motionless body in his arms, and rose to return to the Guide's house at the top of the mountain. If his companions saw the tears streaming down his face, they did not mention it.

Akane slowly became aware of...nothing. She did not have any memory of the last few - what was it? Minutes? Hours? She only knew that there was darkness all around her. Oddly, she realized just how light she felt. Why light? Where was she? She felt herself lying down, but couldn't exactly tell what she was lying on. There was no sound, and nothing to see, though she was sure she had opened her eyes by now. All that met them was pitch black. Had she gone blind? Was she…?

No. She couldn't be dead, could she?

Akane took stock of herself. She wrapped her arms around her body; a comforting gesture that assured her that at least her self, her person, was there somehow. Just where "there" was, she was still a little unsure. A creeping sense of dread filled her as she cast her mind back, trying to recall how she ended up in her current state of non-being.

Ranma clutched Akane's lifeless form tightly to him. He would let no one touch her. No one should help him with his burden; it was his right to take care of her, even now at the end of all things. The weight of Akane's limp body was nothing to the weight in his heart.

Ryouga, Mousee, Shampoo, and his father trailed quietly behind. They were all following the Guide back to his home on the top of the mountain. Successful in their battle, they could only feel a sense of defeat. Ryouga had his eyes trained on Ranma, ever-vigilant. He was ready to step in if at any point Ranma looked like he might stumble and drop Akane.

Had I just been faster. If I hadn't been so selfish. Why didn't I tell her sooner? Now she'll never know. Never know. All my fault. All my fault.

Lost in thought, Ranma barely noticed when they arrived at the house. Ryouga gently touched his shoulder to get his attention. It was only when he spoke that the Lost Boy broke through Ranma's haze.

"Ranma, you've done enough for today. Let me…"

But he got no further. Ranma's angry eyes turned towards his long-time schoolmate, friend, and rival. Ranma's gaze seared him with the intensity of his anger. The heat of the battle had all but seared his throat. Dry, cracked lips barely parted as Ranma rasped out a single word:

"Mine."

A single word, and nothing more.

Mine… Ranma thought. My fiancee. My responsibility. My fault.

The depth of the sorrow exposed in Ranma's voice, in the now-futile protectiveness of his arms as he grasped Akane's limp form even closer to him, struck the ragged party. Mousse looked on pityingly, and even Shampoo felt a pang of remorse when she saw how desperately Ranma clutched at the young girl he held.

She didn't know how long she had been in this vast darkness of Nowhere. Akane's memories were slowly, slowly returning to her. Overwhelmed, she was hunched over in a crouched position on ground she could not even see. Gods, the battle! Had they won? Where was Ranma now? She could remember throwing herself in front of Ranma to protect him from Saffron...but then everything was a blank. Akane thought she had heard Ranma calling out to her, but could not be sure.

Why is it so dark?

How could she have put herself in such a terrible position? Why had she thrown herself into harm's way so willingly?

Ranma…

Yes, Ranma was why. She wanted Ranma to live. Akane had felt what little strength she had left draining from her doll's body. She knew she would do it again if she had to.

I wanted Ranma to live...

Even without hope for herself, her last act had been to protect the one she loved.

Loved…

She loved Ranma, didn't she. Sad to realize it so late. Too late.

Was this death after all? She could feel herself. Arms still clutching her middle, holding on tight. Could this be what death is like? It was so lonely.

Loved Ranma…

A wave of sadness washed over her. Akane was barely aware of the small pinpoint of light that appeared far away, and could be seen just out of the corner of her eye.

At least Ranma's ok. He's alive, and that's all that matters now.

Tears leaked from her eyes, so tightly shut they hurt. She rocked back and forth, repeating to herself the same words over and over: "He's alive. He's alive. Ranma is alive".

Strangely, the little pinpoint of light began to grow. Each time Akane repeated her mantra, the light got ever-so-slightly larger. A little warmer. A bit more noticeable.

After what felt like ages of crying, she slowly began to calm herself. There was, after all, a limit to how many tears one could shed. And she still wasn't entirely convinced of what her current...state was.

I do wish I could see him again though...

With a final sniffle, Akane dragged her sleeve across her eyes to dry them. Sleeve? She suddenly realized she was still wearing the doll's robe. She could just barely make out the embroidery on the fabric, which meant…

Light! There was warm glow of light just off in the distance. How had she not noticed before? So little was illuminated by it, but it was the only glimpse of hope she had that there was something more to this place than just the dark. Determined, Akane rose to her feet. A little shaky at first, she steadied herself with a deep breath.

Akane began to walk towards the light along the long, dark path she could not even see.

The Guide's house was eerily calm after all that had transpired in the mountains that day. Perched high among the clouds on the top of a mountain, it seemed to hover above the tragedy that had occurred so far below.

Once inside, the Guide barely noticed any of the others as he narrowly observed Akane in Ranma's arms. He held his gaze on the young woman for a few moments, and then turned away. He quietly whispered something to Plum, who immediately left his side to enter one of the rooms in the back of the house. The Guide ushered his guests into the living area. He then directed Ranma towards an adjacent bedroom in which he could safely lay Akane.

Nothing his friends and companions did could break Ranma out of his reverie. He watched Akane as if nothing else in the world existed. He would not join his friends, but stayed by Akane's side and kept watch over her small, frail form.

In hushed tones, Genma, Mousee, Shampoo, Ryouga, and the Guide sat at the dining room table to discuss next steps. Shampoo had released the Panda from his enslavement as they ascended the mountain with Akane. Even Shampoo had lost her taste for controlling Ranma's father as soon as she fully realized what had happened to Akane.

"We have to tell her father." Mousse said in a surprisingly authoritative tone. Ryouga desperately tried to contain his hiccuping sobs at the thought.

"Yes… there's nothing else to be done." Genma looked over at the doorway in which he knew his son kept vigil over the young woman. He added with a sigh, "I don't know what he'll do to my boy once he finds out, though".

Shampoo rushed to Ranma's defense, "It no Ranma's fault violent girl get killed!"

Disappointed in his beloved, Mousse replied, "Yes, well, we know that, but what is her father going to say? He'll certainly say it's Ranma's fault. Or…" he turned to Genma, "...yours."

"Don't blame me, boy!" Genma replied hotly. "I've done everything I could to protect her, but she just kept throwing herself in there! I was a panda at the time! And under Shampoo's control if we all recall. Maybe if Shampoo had tried to help, I could have done more!"

Before Shampoo could respond, Ryouga burst out through his tears, "You all make me sick! How can you talk like that? Blaming each other! What is it, Akane's fault this happened? She didn't ask to get kidnapped and brought here! She was just doing her best to...to help...to help Ranma. And now…"

He paused and looked each of them in the eye before adding, "And now Ranma's got to live with this! Do you think he's going to just walk away? He wouldn't be trying to pin this on any of you. You know he's in there right now blaming himself. She died trying to save him, and he wasn't even able to save her! He'll probably always feel like he failed her! He'll probably blame himself for the rest of his life! "

Ryouga - poor, good-natured Ryouga - had no idea just how much pain he was inflicting on Ranma with that statement. The group's conversion had initially been low and quiet enough that what they were saying had remained indistinguishable to Ranma, holding vigil over Akane. In his enthusiastic defense of Ranma (and overwhelming distress over Akane), Ryouga's voice rose to a fevered pitch.

Ranma heard every word.

Inside the small, dark room, he hung his head. Ranma knew Ryouga was right. "I'm sorry Akane," he said, softly. He could barely hold back his tears. Stroking her hair gently, he continued, "I'm sorry that you had to die because of me. You were always, always fighting for me. You were always on my side. I was too slow. Too stupid to save you. That's my job! I protect you whenever you get in trouble." His hands, resting on his knees as he knelt beside her, clenched into fists.

"I've always saved you before. I guess I just wasn't strong enough this time. I'm sorry I failed you Akane. I'm sorry… I'm sorry.."

His voice broke. All of this was his fault. He loved her, and she would never know. He loved her, and he never got to show her. He loved her, and now she was dead.

Ranma had come here hoping to find a cure for his curse, but what curse was worse than having to live without Akane?

So caught up in his own thoughts, Ranma did not even notice when Plum crept softly into the room. Kneeling down next to Akane's pale body, she took out a small mirror she had retrieved from her room. Her father had always said that the magic of Jusenkyo could never be taken for granted. Plum trusted her father.

She delicately brought the little compact mirror up to Akane's mouth, waited, and watched.

Only a moment passed. Plum suddenly gasped, a sharp sound that immediately drew Ranma's attention.

"What are you doing?" Ranma demanded. He had only just noticed the little girl hovering over Akane.

"Look! Look!" she said excitedly. "Look at the mirror!". Ranma didn't understand, she looked so happy. Plum was anxiously gesturing with the mirror in her hand.

"Look!" she cried.

"I don't..."

"Mist! Or, what do you say, fog? Fogging on the mirror means she's alive! Not dead!" Plum looked at him, willing him to understand.

"Not…" Ranma couldn't comprehend. He only knew a small something like hope was beginning to creep its way inside of him. He looked at the mirror she held. A little bit of condensation was receding off the surface, and then was gone. What was he looking at? His poor, misery-addled mind could not follow. Plum was looking up at him with so much excitement in her eyes. It seemed like she saying Akane wasn't dead. How could that be true?

At Plum's cries, the group that had been arguing at the table now rushed inside the little room and packed it full. Breathless, they looked towards the Guide.

"She not dead! Jusekyo filled with magic. Never know what can happen! Look like Miss Honorable Young Guest still breathe. That what mist show. Plum, you sure see mist?"

Plum nodded emphatically.

"Here, let me." Ranma's heart was in his throat as Plum wiped off the little mirror with her sleeve, and passed it to him. His hands were shaking as he carefully held it a few centimeters away from Akane's lips. All eyes were fixed on Ranma and the blue-haired girl beside him. The room was utterly silent.

Holding his breath, Ranma watched the the glass on the mirror. A second passed. Then another. No one spoke. Suddenly, he saw condensation form. It receded slightly, then formed again. His wide, wild eyes scanned Akane's body up and down. An almost imperceivable rise and fall in her chest could be seen to keep in time with the condensation on the mirror.

He pulled his hand, shaking, away from Akane's lips. Looking up the anxious faces in the doorway, he could barely croak out the words:

"She's alive!"

A/N: This is the first chapter of a multi-chapter story. I am not a professional writer in any way, but I do hope you can enjoy my story. Thank you for reading!