Challenges Remembered
By M. Zephyr

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Warning: this is intended to be a short tear-jerker. Akane reflects on the challenges faced over the course of her life. This story sort of snuck up on me, and demanded that I write it.

Akane Saotome felt as if she were drifting in and out of sleep, hardly aware anymore of what was real and what was not. Her eyes briefly opened and saw the people gathered around her and occupying other positions within the room, then closed again, too heavy to keep open in her current weakness. Her thoughts drifted back to earlier days.

Eight years old, and standing with her father and sisters at her mother's bedside in the hospital. It was time to say good-bye, and daddy had picked her up so that she could hug mommy one last time. Akane could hear her mother's voice again, barely above a whisper, "You must be strong for me, my little Akane-chan, and show your father what a brave little girl you are. Your life will be full of many challenges, and I am sorry that I will not be there to help you face the ones which are coming. Wherever I am, I will be watching, and I will always be proud of you provided that you do your best. I am sure that you are destined to be a great martial artist, like your father." Akane hugged her mother, tears running down her face, and then her father lifted her down and it was her sisters' turns to say good-bye.

Fifteen years old, almost sixteen, and high school had recently started. Just through the school gates, and the shocking sight of a gang of boys running toward her, intent on attack. Her training took over, and she rapidly trounced the idiots, before she even had a chance to think about what was happening. That fool from Nabiki's class, Tatewaki Kuno, had stepped out from behind a tree and informed her that this was due to his proclamation the day before. It had been decided that whichever boy was able to defeat her would be the one to date her. Rage erupting from every pore, Akane had thrashed Kuno soundly, but that hadn't stopped the boys, who had continued to attack her every morning.

Ranma Saotome entering her life a month later, and Akane again felt a familiar longing as she remembered. Their fathers had forced them into an engagement, and their first meeting hadn't gone very well. Her first sight of him as a male had been when she walked in on him in the bathing room, both of them naked, just as he was climbing out of the furo. She had called him a pervert for having seen her like that, and bashed him later for the things that he had said to her. But later that night she had wondered which of them was truly the pervert, as she lay in her bed, unable to sleep, the memory of what she had seen in the bathing room causing unexpected heat to blossom within her. She had become even more vocal in calling Ranma a pervert, denying to herself what she herself felt.

Akane's mind flicked over various scenes during high school, evidence of their feelings for one another, if only they might have had the sense to recognize it for such at the time. Ranma proclaiming that she was his fiancée in an ice skating rink before a large audience. Akane stepping voluntarily into the whirlwind of the Hiryu Shoten Ha to rescue the chart which would restore Ranma's strength. The two of them holding hands on the walk back from Ryugenzawa. The things Ranma had said to her to make the enchanted dogi jealous, which she had later learned had come from his heart, and the feeling of being held in his arms when he had finally defeated the dogi.

If only they had been willing to admit the truth to one another. But they hadn't, and their behavior toward one another had too often been influenced by the manipulations of others. Their parents tried to push them together, which instead drove them apart, but there were other forces which attempted to pull them apart, and instead had driven them together.

Then there was the horror of Jusendo mountain, where Akane knew that somehow she had been fighting against Saffron with Ranma, and afterward had started to float down a tunnel toward a light. But then she had heard Ranma's voice, the agony in it tearing at her heart, as he called out to her that he loved her. She had turned around, and then opened her eyes to find his face above hers, tears in his eyes. She had whispered his name and seen true joy light up his face, before his old fears had clouded it again. She had not told him, but from that point she had bared mental teeth against all that would hold them apart, and accepted the challenge, vowing that somehow they would be united. The disaster of a wedding attempt on their return to Japan had almost made her falter in facing this challenge, but she had recovered, and persevered.

From somewhere off to the side, Akane heard the doctor saying, "It won't be long now." It wasn't Doctor Tofu, but a fairly young man, engaged to one of her granddaughters. Tofu and Kasumi Ono had been lying beside one another in the cemetery for the last several years.

In the months that had followed the wedding disaster, the old barriers between Ranma and herself had gradually crumbled, in spite of rather than aided by their families. Akane felt warmth suffuse her as she remembered the first time, after Jusendo, when Ranma had admitted to her in a halting voice that he loved her. She remembered the melting sensation which had overcome her the first time that they had kissed, which not surprisingly was that same day they had admitted their love. She remembered her heart bursting in sheer happiness and love when Ranma had gone down on his knee in front of her and asked her to marry him.

But the challenges had been far from over. There were others who had wanted Ranma, and would do almost anything to get him. That was the reason Ranma had finally begun training her seriously, to raise her skill level as high as possible before the others discovered what was going on. It had been hard, so hard, to hide their love for one another over the next year, especially halfway through that year when Ranma had proposed to her. However, they had been successful, and when Shampoo had finally learned the truth and challenged Akane, it was Akane who had won decisively. When Shampoo woke afterwards, she had threatened to kill Akane, but then Ranma had threatened Shampoo with death in turn. Cologne, looking in Ranma's eyes, had realized that he meant it, and that there was no longer any hope of victory but only of tragedy. Cologne had dragged her great-granddaughter back to China, over the girl's protests.

Akane's eyes opened. Her overly dry mouth whispered a single word, "Water." Her son Ryuma leaned forward, dribbling a few drops past her lips, easing the discomfort. She relaxed and her eyes closed again.

Ukyo Kuonji had crumbled without a fight, after witnessing Akane's sound defeat of Shampoo, and being told in no uncertain terms by Ranma that it was Akane whom he loved. She had sunk into a black depression for months afterward, but time does heal wounds, and she had eventually recovered. Indeed, they had gone on to become friends, and Akane had stood beside her as matron of honor when Ukyo later married Konatsu.

Akane's memories passed quickly over her discovery of Ryoga's Jusenkyo curse. She didn't want to dwell on the pain of that memory. She had never forgiven him, and had never seen him again after that day.

The Kuno siblings had refused to give up, and when the time came for Akane's and Ranma's wedding, traps had been laid for them. They had both ended up institutionalized as a result. Kodachi's therapy had actually been successful, and she was back out a year later. She had gone on to marry a nice young man, and coached several girls to Olympic gold medals in gymnastics. Sadly, therapy was less successful in her brother's case, and he had spent the remainder of his life locked away from the public.

Luckily, the capture of the Kuno's had been managed quietly and efficiently, and did not disturb the wedding at all. Their wedding vows, when she and Ranma had pledged themselves to one another, was one of Akane's most treasured memories. The look on Ranma's face that day, slightly nervous but fiercely determined, his eyes so deep she thought she would drown in them, was an image that she would never forget.

Another treasured memory, although a much more private one, was of later that night when she and Ranma had made love for the first time. They had both been shy and inexperienced, but he had proven himself a gentle lover, and she had nearly wept at the ecstasy he had made her feel. She had fallen asleep that night wishing that she could go back in time and mallet her younger self for ever having called him a pervert.

A noise in the room brought Akane's eyes open again, and she looked around to see her youngest daughter Sakura coming through the door breathlessly, as if she had been running, trailed by her husband and children. There were tears on her face as she rushed up to the bedside and took Akane's hand, whispering, "Oh, momma!" Akane managed to give her daughter's hand a gentle squeeze.

Her eyelids not feeling quite as heavy just at the moment, Akane took the opportunity to look around the room. Her son Ryuma was standing beside Sakura. Her other daughter, Hitomi, was standing on the other side of the bed. All three had tears streaking their faces. Ryuma's wife and the girls' husbands were there, as were a collection of grandchildren and even a few great-grandchildren. Her sister Nabiki was sitting off to one side, face lined with age but looking relatively serene, if more than a little sad. There was likely no one left other than Akane, at least among the extended family, who remembered the Ice Queen of Furinkan High. The ice had been melted by the man Nabiki had married, and the children she had borne and loved had completed the process.

Akane was lying in her own bed, in her own bedroom. It was the master bedroom of the house in Nerima, which she and Ranma had shared for more than fifty happy years together. Even now she could almost imagine him lying on the bed beside her, and wished that she could use his chest for a pillow just one more time. She imagined his cocky grin and shining blue eyes as they would be if he were holding her, and allowed the memories to wash over her once again.

The first years of their marriage had been hard, as they balanced work and college, and then reopened the dojo. But the work had paid off and the dojo of the United School of Anything Goes Martial Arts had begun developing quite a reputation. A dojo destroyer had shown up soon after that, but the two of them, working together, had sent him off with a humiliating defeat.

There was the day that Happosai had gone too far and raided the girls' locker room at Furinkan High one time too many, forcing Ranma to challenge the old pervert. Ranma had thus become the grandmaster of the Anything Goes school, and Happosai had slunk away and spent his remaining years groping women in foreign countries.

The letter from Saffron in China had been a complete surprise. He had written that he was still too young to undergo the transformation to attain his full power, but that his people were being threatened, and had begged for help. With a degree of trepidation, both Akane and Ranma had gone to the aid of the Phoenix people, where they discovered that Captain Kiima had managed to raise Saffron to be a far better child than in his last incarnation. It had been a near thing, but in the end Akane's and Ranma's presence had proven the deciding factor, and the would-be invaders had been forced to retreat.

About a year after that came Akane's next fondest memory, the birth of hers and Ranma's son, Ryuma. This was followed by the greatest challenge they faced throughout their lives, parenthood. They certainly hadn't managed to be a perfect mother and father, but with their own parents' example of what not to be, Akane and Ranma had managed on the whole to do a pretty good job of raising their children. All three had attained mastery in the martial arts, although only Ryuma had adopted it as the center of his life, succeeding his parents in running the dojo. Hitomi had followed her Aunt Kasumi's example and become a psychologist, while Sakura was a professor of history at Tokyo University.

There were so many challenges over the years that it was hardly possible to remember them all, although she and Ranma had always faced them together. There was the time that an elderly Genma Saotome had released a demon, thinking that it would somehow restore his youth, only to have it escape and run around ensorcelling people to speak only the sort of gibberish referred to as "baby talk." There were the two other fiancée's for Ranma and, surprisingly, one for Akane, who had shown up after their marriage, demanding to marry the one to whom they had been engaged. There was the time that Ranma had been turned invisible for a week, and the time Akane had been forced for two days to speak all of her sentences with the words in reverse order. That was only scratching the surface, of course; it would have taken hours to remember all of the incidents.

Next Akane pulled out another of her fond memories, to look it over one more time. This one took place a couple of years after their youngest was born, when Saffron had written to them again, and invited them to come and witness his transformation. They had refused to visit Jusendo itself, whose memory was too painful to them, but had accepted the hospitality of Mount Phoenix while it took place. When Saffron had returned, in his full power, he had bowed low to both of them, and thanked them both for putting an end to the arrogance of his previous incarnation and for helping to save his people when they had answered his earlier call for aid. He then informed Ranma that as soon as the transformation had been completed, he had used his power to restore the pools at Jusenkyo, and offered to guide him to the Nanniichuan. This offer had been gratefully accepted and, after what seemed far too many years, Ranma's curse was finally cured. While at Jusenkyo, Akane and Ranma helped the guide and his daughter Plum to mail notices to all of the people known to have curses, informing them that the pools had been restored. They even sent such a notice to Akari's farm, having heard that Ryoga had finally married her.

Cologne had accompanied Shampoo and Mousse to Jusenkyo, along with a couple of other cursed individuals from among the Joketsuzoku, to obtain their cures. Thus, for the first time in many years, Akane and Ranma had found themselves facing the Amazons once more. Cologne had taken one look at the two martial artists, whose power had only continued to grow over the years, and the menacing figure of the fully adult Saffron standing beside them, and came to a rapid decision for the good of her people. Shampoo was finally, and grudgingly, forced to rescind the Kisses of Marriage and Death which she had given the two so many years before. Shampoo was further informed by her great-grandmother that she had pouted over this for long enough, and that she could either choose a mate from among her people when they returned, or one would be chosen for her.

Akane realized she was having more trouble breathing, and whispered, "Ryuma, Hitomi, Sakura." The three leaned in closer, and Akane continued in a voice that she could not raise above a whisper. "My dear children, know that I and your father loved you very much, and were always so very proud of you. You and your father brought joy to my life, joy which as a child I almost despaired of ever finding. Try not to weep for me. Long ago at Jusendo, I almost died, but came back because Ranma was here and I would not be parted from him. This time he is on the other side, and I go to join him once more. I cannot but look forward to the meeting, for with him I shall be complete again." Her voice trailed off, "Good-bye my loves ..."

As her eyes closed, she remembered the day just over two years ago, when she had sat beside the bed in this same room, holding Ranma's hand. Listening to him whisper his last words to her, "I'm going ahead now, Akane, but I'll wait for you." She could almost hear his voice again, and her lips curved up into a gentle smile, as one last breath passed across them.

She found herself in a tunnel which was familiar to her from long ago, and happily floated toward the light at the other end. When she reached it, Akane found herself standing on a road, with grassy meadows full of flowers stretching out on either side. Ranma was standing right in front of her, and she threw her arms around him, weeping in joy. She felt his lips brushing the top of her hair, as he said, "I told you I'd wait for you." She pulled back to gaze at him through misty eyes, realizing that he looked like he was in his early twenties again. About the same time, she realized that her hands and arms no longer looked wrinkled and age spotted.

"Hello, Ranma," Akane said in a trembling voice. "It's so very, very good to see you again. I've really missed you these last couple of years."

"I've missed you, too," he replied, as he brushed a hand through her hair. "But now we'll never have to be parted again."

Akane looked around and saw that they weren't alone. In an elated voice, she cried, "Kasumi! Tofu! ... and ... Momma? Momma!" She let go of Ranma and threw her arms around her mother, who tearfully hugged her back. They stayed that way for some time, but eventually Akane pulled back and looked around again.

"Where's daddy?" she asked. "Shouldn't he be here?"

Her mother smiled, and gently told her, "Eventually, dear, he will be. He and Ranma's parents accumulated a little too much ... debt, and they're going to be a while longer paying it off. Lessons which aren't learned in life ... well, they still need to be learned, and it's harder than doing so when one is alive. Ranma's mother won't be very much longer. Soun will be a while yet, I'm afraid, and Genma, well, you'll probably be welcoming your grandchildren here first."

Akane nodded, accepting, and turned back to Ranma again. She gave him that beautiful smile, the one he had fallen in love with. Ranma reached out and took her hand in his, then looked down the road. Speaking softly, he asked, "Are you ready for the next challenge, Akane?" She nodded her head and, hand in hand, they ran together down the road.

THE END

Author's note:

Just for the record, any theology read between the lines above is not intended to be representative of any beliefs which I personally may hold. This is a work of fiction.

I felt that too much information would have distracted from the story, but I'll say a few sentences for those who want to know what other directions my mind was running in when I wrote the above. Ryuma's wife is the daughter of Ukyo and Konatsu, and she is also a martial arts master, having trained under both sets of parents, and helps to run the dojo. By the time they showed up at Jusenkyo to be cured, Mousse had long since given up on Shampoo, had married another strong warrior from the village who was able to see his good qualities, and they had children of their own. Akane and Ranma both died of nothing more than simple old age. At the time of the deathbed scene, Ukyo had already passed away, and Konatsu was living with a different daughter in another city. For any other characters from the series, I probably just didn't give any consideration to their status during the writing.