Time and Again

Chapter 1

A/N: I'd like to thank you for the nice reviews, although I wonder if they're going to be as nice after you read this... anyway! Ahem, I hope this chapter answers some of the questions and comments I received. Oh yeah! And I don't own any of the Ranma characters, forgot to mention that on the prologue. Oops!

Ranma's whole world comprised only of darkness. He neither felt nor saw a thing; all of his senses had long since fled him. But it wasn't as if he had passed out as he was still acutely aware that he existed, although he was not sure why or how. It seemed as though he was drifting through an endless void of black nothingness, blissfully unaware of the burden of reality.

He had fallen into this blackness with the overwhelming wish that circumstances could've been different, that he could have the chance to make things right with Akane. He hadn't had time to ponder on the outcome of that last, seemingly hopeless wish, but if he had he'd never have guessed that it would be granted. Somehow, the despair and anguish he had suffered reached out to a place beyond human comprehension and was looked upon sympathetically. Ranma would get his wish; things certainly would be different. However it was not guaranteed that they would be changed for the best; wishes follow the principal of yin and yang, for every good happening there must be bad. So Ranma's wish would come with a price. And what exactly that price was, he would soon find out...

He woke to the sound of a crackling fire, painfully aware that he was lying on a hard, pointy surface that jagged up into his back even through the warm sleeping bag he found himself to be wrapped in. Sitting up slowly he attempted to observe his surroundings through his post-sleep grogginess, noticing that he was in a forest clearing the location of which he had no idea. The fire he had heard as he woke burnt weakly a little way away from him, the dwindling flames giving way to become glowing embers that tried in vain to light the adjacent area. Although the firelight was dying, the moon was full, illuminating the large clearing enough for Ranma to get a better look at his surroundings.

Two sleeping bags similar to his lay on opposite sides of the fire, one was not occupied while the other definitely was. He could tell this because it rose and fell rhythmically, as if breathing. A mess of black hair was all that was visible of the occupant since he or she was turned the other way. Suddenly the mystery person mumbled in their sleep and turned towards him and Ranma was more than shocked when he realised who it was.

'Ryoga?' He wondered, 'Just what the heck is he doing here? And where is here anyway?' Ranma's confusion was mounting by the second. Hadn't he just been in that warehouse in Nerima where it had happened? Then why was he suddenly in the middle of a clearing in a forest that certainly didn't belong in Nerima, let alone the whole of Tokyo. There was only one explanation that his mind could offer to him and Ranma latched onto it as if it were a lifeboat saving him from drowning in a sea of despair. The tragedy that had happened seemingly moments ago must have been a nightmare. He had just woken up, so to him there was absolutely no doubt that he had just been asleep and dreaming. The fact that he had no idea how he'd got here escaped him entirely, he was too relieved to notice.

He was about to charge over there and wake the sleeping boy up to confirm his hopes when a rustling in the bushes distracted him. Within a moment he had leapt to his feet and relaxed into a ready stance, facing the bushes and ready to meet the threat head on. It hadn't occurred to him that it could be the owner of the empty sleeping bag.

Genma walked into the clearing slowly, a hefty bundle of twigs and small branches cradled in his arms. As he walked Ranma couldn't help but notice that his father was favouring his left leg ever so slightly, meaning that he had somehow injured the right. As he approached the fire his eyes were downcast, his gaze not rising to meet his son's but Ranma was sure his father knew of his presence. Genma knelt down beside the weakening fire and distributed the wood on and around it, then began raking the embers with a twig. Finally, he spoke softly.

"Go back to sleep Ranma, we have a hard day ahead of us."

"Pop" Ranma questioned, perturbed by his father's abnormal behaviour. There was definitely something drastically different about his old man. As he sat there hunched over the fire he looked like a broken man. His manner did not hold the usual arrogance and pride that Genma Saotome, panda or not, usually radiated. Instead he looked weak and frail, even... pathetic.

"Pop" Ranma asked again, approaching his father and sitting down across from him. "What's going on" He paused to look around the clearing. "Where am I"

"What do you mean 'Where am I?' You are in the same place where you laid down to sleep last night, where else" He responded solemnly, not at all the condescending tone that would usually fill his voice.

Ranma frowned, feeling as if his father was playing games with him. But he couldn't bring himself to snap an angry reply back, since his old man's subdued mood greatly disturbed him. He was surprised to find himself feeling slightly concerned for the old fool. "What's wrong" He asked hesitantly.

"You should know that by now, boy." Genma paused in what he was doing and smirked, but it was not filled with mirth as a smirk should be, instead it seemed pained and sad. He had never seen his father display raw emotions so openly before, if at all. The sight caused Ranma to gasp in shock and pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't still dreaming.

Finally Genma's efforts in replenishing the fire paid off, the remaining flames now taking to the new wood. Where there had been shadows before, the light from the thriving fire now chased them away. Immediately the clearing in which they sat felt a lot warmer and friendlier, though Ranma couldn't say the same for his father's attitude.

Genma sat back on his behind and rubbed his hands together in front of the fire, pursing his lips and shuddering as the sudden warmth hit him. He let out a long sigh before he began to speak.

"We are going back to Japan tomorrow, Ranma" He said"I wasn't going to tell you until tomorrow, but now that you seem to be wide awake..." He trailed off, his gaze lost in the orange flames.

'Going back to Japan tomorrow?' Ranma rolled the sentence over in his mind. He was sure he had heard his father speak it at some other time and he couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd been in this exact place before, having exactly the same conversation with his father, minus the old man's abnormal behaviour of course.

"I feel I have trained you to the best of my abilities, considering the circumstances..." He said, leaving Ranma to wonder just what he meant by 'circumstances'. "Now it is time that we finally head to the Tendos. I sent a letter yesterday, it should be arriving there tomorrow."

Ranma suddenly knew why this felt very familiar. He had lived this moment before. It was the night before he'd left China and swam across the Sea to meet Akane and her family. He had woken up in the middle of the night in this same clearing and being unable to return to sleep, had joined his father beside the campfire. Genma had told him that they would be leaving for Japan the next day for 'special training'. Ranma, jumping at any chance to better himself in the art, had believed his old man and consented to going before trying to find a cure. He was glad now that Genma hadn't told him the real reason, for he might not have met Akane in the first place.

But what exactly was going on? Why was he in the same place he'd been in 2 years ago in near enough identical circumstances? It was as if he'd gone back in time, but that wasn't possible was it? Oh wait... yes it was, the incident with the Nanban Mirror resurfaced itself in Ranma's mind. So maybe, somehow, he had been put back in time. Maybe that second chance he so desperately hoped for had been granted. He raised his gaze to the star-filled sky. 'Maybe somebody up there likes me...'

"Tomorrow we head to the Tendos..." Genma repeated suddenly, interrupting Ranma's thoughts. "Yes, tomorrow we head to the Tendos to finally avenge your mother's murder..."

A/N: That chapter was pretty short... well I just wanted to end it on a cliffhanger you see Mwaha. But the next chapter is nearly done, and should be up very shortly. Um my story is getting pretty dark eh? I promise it will get happier! You're probably confused and/or have lots of questions... well don't worry, all will be explained.

Oh yeah! As always, any CC are welcome.