Chapter Fourteen

"Welcome home," Kasumi greeted, "Let me go get some water for the rice." Kasumi dodged out of the room while everyone else sat in silence. Christmas was four days away. The rest of the time in Jusenkyo was spent hiking and training for Akane and Ranma. The Guide's daughter even taught Akane some quick dish wip ups. She didn't conquer them easily at first. Infact, she wanted to shove the ring down Ranma's throat when she was first learning.

"We're back!" Ranma called as they entered the small hut. He and Ryoga tossed their backpacks by the door and seated themselves. Ranma let out a wide yawn and ruffled his hair as Ryoga leaned against the small table inbetween them.

"Ranma! Ryoga!" Akane dodged into the room, a steaming pot in her hand. She leapt to the ground with a thud beside the table and dished the food out onto the plates, "Try it please!"

"What is it?" Ranma asked, eyeing the veggie and rice mix.

"It's a famous chinese dish here! It has bell peppers, jalenpenos, herbs, spices, and steamed rice. I made it myself!" That's when the sirons went off in Ranma's head. He stared at Ryoga, who was staring at his plate. Ranma then looked back at Akane. She was waiting eagerly'd, her hands placed firmly in her lap. "Please?" She asked. She now looked fragile and small to Ranma.

"Uhm," Ranma choked for a moment, then glared at Ryoga, go on and try it you, you dope! Ryoga scrambled for his chopsticks and stuck them into the clumps of rice. Akane watched him eagerly. Ryoga then glared at Ranma.

She's your fiancee! His eyes melted at this, I wish she was mine. I'll take her if you won't learn to respect her inability to cook! Ranma rolled his eyes and stuck his chopsticks in. He shoveled the food in thinking that if he didn't breath he wouldn't have to taste the food. He chewed on the hard grains and burnt veggies. Ranma swallowed and felt it scrape down his throat. Akane leaned forward, eagered for some feedback.

Oh God, Ranma dropped his chopsticks. Ranma kicked through the door and fell onto all fours in the marshy land. Ryoga and Akane peaked out and watched Ranma throw his guts up on the ground.

"Was it really that bad?" Akane's head hung low now. Ranma sat back from the house. The Guide danced through and hosed the marsh off and danced off, leaving a confused Ryoga.

"It... it wasn't the food," Ranma looked at her. She cocked an eyebrow up. Ranma sighed and came to his feet and pulled his shirt up. There was a massive swelling bruise across his chest.

"Oh my God," Akane recoiled back, "Ranma what happened?" Before he could answer she turned on her heels to Ryoga, "While you guys were training, did you kick Ranma really hard in the stomach?"

"No," Ranma said, dropping his shirt, "Ryoga didn't do it. Drager did." Akane tensed for a moment, but then untense, her jaw unlocking.

"So, my cooking was good?" She asked, hopefully.

"Uhm... no that probably just helped me throw up," Ranma rubbed the back of his head. He then felt Akane's fist come into contact with his face.

"It's amazing I still have a face," Ranma murmered as Kasumi left the room for the water. Mrs. Saotome looked between the two, then down at the ring resting on Akane's finger. She smiled, then looked at her son. He blushed and looked away.

"Here's the water," Kasumi announced as she entered. "WHOOPS!" She tripped suddenly. The kettle of hot water went hurling through the air. It dumped it's contents on the gatherers of the table. Akane was knocked over by a sudden panda. She bumped into a damp Ranma. She looked up at his face. Water droplets were sliding off of his hair, but he now pushed his soaked food away from him.

"I still haven't gotten used to the fact that the curse it gone," Akane whispered as everyone was apologized to by Kasumi. Ranma looked down at the girl who was still leaned against his arm, "I don't think I ever will get used to that. So much has changed."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked. She pushed back a little now, everyone resuming conversation and attention to the T.V. No one was paying attention to them.

"Just... no curse, Drager gone... me not being able to have kids," She nearly whispered the last one. "It just all doesn't seem real." She turned back to her soggy food, "It doesn't matter. Everything happens for a reason and somehow, it turns out for the better. Maybe I wasn't meant to have kids." Ranma's brow furrowed as Akane told herself this. He could see the deep disappointment in her eyes as she stared down at the table. Ranma looked away.

...

Akane was sitting up on the roof, hugging her knees. She lowered her head to her knees and rested her chin there. The wind blew her air softly. It was growing out again, just getting past her ears now. She would probably be cutting it soon. The pain in her abdomen was long gone and she was now facing the facts that she would probably never have kids. She lifted her hand to stare at the engagement ring on her hand. She remembered him just nonchalantly handing her the ring.

It's still beautiful, Akane thought. It had become a habit soon after she grew accustom to the ring to twirl it around her finger, I never thought things would end up here. Really engaged to Ranma. Drager really gone. Part of me wants Drager back... but just thinking about what he did to me... Akane pushed the thoughts away and began slowly easing herself down.

Suddenly, her foot slipped. Akane let out a small scream before she went sliding off the roof. She managed to grab the edge of the room. She let out a sigh of relief and began swinging her legs back and forth, trying to get momentum. Akane grew tired after a few swings. All this healing had really put her far behind on training. Akane leapt to the close roof that lead to her room. She landed on the roof and immediately staggered and tripped.

"You sure do make a lot of noise," Her head shot up from where she was lying to see Ranma standing there leaning against the wall. She said nothing and began climbing to her feet, "What are you doing outside anyway, Akane? You should be asleep." He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

"It was a nice night," Akane got up on her tip toes and slid the window open to the side. Usually she was able to just leap up onto the window sill and clamber in, but tonight she realized that Ranma had been helping her in and out of the window. I'm unfit, Akane thought, her eyes widening at the thought of this. Her hands lowered to her stomach.

"Hey, would you stop thinking about that?" Ranma asked. His eyebrow cocked up when he watched her hands slide to her waist, her eyes shaking. Her hands even ran over thighs. She turned to Ranma.

"I'm... I'm unfit," Akane sputtered. She touched her face, "Ranma! I am weeks behind in training! I am unfit!" She shook her head, "Oh geez,"

"So wait," Ranma held his hand up, a small smirk on his face, "Do you need help getting in the window?" Akane was silent. He took it for a yes, "Alright. Here, I'll give you a boost."

"No," Akane backed away from him, "I gotta do this myself," Akane said, her signature confident and stubborn look on her face. She squatted down for a moment and began to ready herself for the leap to the window, I can't be unfit. All those years of training and then three and a half weeks of not training? What was I thinking? I was learning to cook while Ryoga and Ranma trained. Akane sprang into the air, but immediately she felt an excruciating pain in her lower abdomen. Her face flushed of color as she sailed through the hair. Her hands locked onto the window sill and she scrambled up to sit on it, pain racking her body.

"Alright, you did it!" Ranma laughed. He grew silent when Akane leaned forward, hugging her stomach. Her eyes were squeezed shut tight. She shook her head as if shaking away the tears slowly finding their way from the corners of eyes. "Hey, Akane?" No answer.

Shut up! She wanted to scream, What is this pain? Did I just pull something? Akane wanted to scream out in pain, wanted to cry her eyes out. But she remained silent and willed. She sat up straight, but the pain struck again. This time it was a sudden and most painful rack ever. It caused her head to spin. Akane's eyes drifted shut and she fell off the window sill. Ranma narrowly caught her and held her in his arms.

"What's wrong?" He whispered as her head lolled against his shoulders.

...

"Let's see," Dr. Tofu rubbed a soft goo across Akane's lower abdomen. She stared forward at the screen. Everyone was in their pajamas. "I'll just do a quit sonogram," Dr. Tofu brought a small hand held device into his hand that was connected to a humming machine. Ranma had heard of a sonogram, but he never knew their true purposes.

"Uhm," Ranma cleared his throat, "If you don't mind me asking... but what's a sonogram?" Akane's eyes didn't flicker to him, she stared straight ahead. His eyes darted to Dr. Tofu who was smiling and holding the device up.

"It's most commonly used to look at the fetus in a womans womb. It marks the growth rate of a baby in the woman. Doctors can determine the sex and weight of the baby for the parents, but they are also used to look at injuries that are internally structered into the body," Dr. Tofu switched something on and pressed the small device to Akane's stomach.

A device that can look at an unborn baby? Ranma's eyes looked at the scene before him. If Akane was a bit more peaceful looking the scene could of almost of ben the future. A baby. Their baby. Get your mind outta the gutter, Saotome. Ranma almost punched himself in the face to keep his mind from wondering.

"It's a girl," Dr. Tofu announced looking as thrilled as Akane. "A healthy baby girl!" He tapped his finger on the monitor. Ranma's eyes darted to the excited looking Akane. Her hands were clasped, tears of joy brimming the edge of her eyes.

"Ranma! A baby girl!" She turned to him, clasping her hand around his. "A beautiful baby girl."

Quit that, Ranma scowled and then returned his attention to the real scene infront of him. Dr. Tofu's face was seriously scanning the monitor and Akane looked scared out of her wits. Ranma just wanted to take her hand and smile reassuringly at her but something was holding him back. It was if a rope was tying him to the chair and cinder blocks were there just to keep reinforcements.

"Right there," Dr. Tofu brought his hand forward to the monitor. Ranma zoned out again. "Right there!" Dr. Tofu declared excitedly, "That is the head of the baby. Look, she's sucking her thumb," He smiled over at Akane and him, "Only six months old and knows how to suck her thumb. What a quick learner!" Ranma shook his head and lightly touched his forehead, seeing everything come back. "Akane, you reopened the wound in your womb. It looks as if it was healing and when you leapt... well, it ripped."

"Could I of had children if it hadn't ripped?" Akane asked, leaning forward. She moaned though and fell back again.

"It'll heal up again," Dr. Tofu told her, cleaning the goo from her stomach and cleaning the station up, "Maybe. Since that's where the egg will be planted in uterus, there's a chance the scar tissue won't be nuturing enough and the egg will be miscarried," Akane's eyes showed hurt when he said this now.

"Hey, Daddy!" Ranma's head shot over his shoulder at the call of a younger child, "Watch this! I just finally taught myself this!" It was a little girl in overalls and a striped sweater. She had black hair that was in two braids, a flower tucked behind her ear. She suddenly threw a high kick, "HI-YAH! Didja see that? I'm gonna be a martial artist like you and mommy one day!"

"Ranma!" Ranma snapped back to look at Akane and Dr. Tofu. "Can you carry Akane home? She needs to remain in bed for a week."

"Y-yeah," Ranma replied. He stood to pick Akane up but looked over his shoulders at where the girl with pig tails was. She seemed so real as if she was talking to someone there in the room. He lifted Akane into his arms. She sighed. He could feel how tense she was. Ranma began for the door.

"Is mommy tired?" Ranma walked into the lobby to see the same little girl standing in the middle of the lobby. Ranma ignored her and rushed into the night holding Akane close to his body.

I'm going insane, He thought to himself.

...

After tucking Akane back in bed, Ranma sat awake. He was just sitting at the eating table and staring at the wall. The milky moonlight illuminating the entire room. He watched his long shadow on the wall. He leaned forward and sighed.

This is crazy, he thought to himself, why am I seeing this little girl? And what the hell was I thinking during the check up? A baby? He shook his head, I've never wanted a baby in all of my life! Have never had a though about it- and here I am, dreaming up little girls! Ranma threw his fist down on the table, clutching his hair.

"Ranma, honey?" Mrs. Saotome seated herself beside Ranma. He looked away, "Why aren't you in bed? Was Akane alright?"

"All fine," Ranma replied dryly. Mrs. Saotome clucked her tongue at the disrespect but Ranma ignored it.

"Tell me what's wrong," Mrs. Saotome demanded, placing her hand on Ranma's tense shoulder. Ranma remained silent for a moment and slowly turned his head to meet his mother's concerned gaze. That's when suddenly another memory flooded his eyes. "Was something wrong?" Mrs. Saotome asked, a different kind of intensity now lighting her gaze. After a moment of silence her face lit up and she pressed her hands together, "Ranma! How wonderful! What are you going to name her?" Another silence, "Something to do with a cherry blossom, eh?" Ranma shook his head and now looked back at his mother. Her gaze wasn't happy anymore.

What the hell was that, Ranma thought, I didn't even say anything! She was talking to herself. "She just ripped the healing injury," Ranma murmered, now staring down at the table, "She's really upset that she can't have kids."

"It's only natural that a girl is," Mrs. Saotome replied, "Having kids is one of the greatest accomplishments an adult can have. Just looking into their bright eyes and seeing a young one, knowing that in the future they are going to do great things and make you proud." She sighed lovingly, "And when that child first comes into the world and you hold them for the very first time... oh my, it's such a wonderful feeling. The poor tiny thing finally stops squirming and crying. They open their eyes and you're awestruck to just see how cute and tiny they really are. And you think to yourself, don't worry, little one, I'll protect you." Mrs. Saotome looked at Ranma. He was staring back at her. His heart was thumping in his chest. "Oh, honey..." Mrs. Saotome looked away, "I shouldn't of gone into such detail about the matter... seeing as though you'll never expirence it." Ranma looked away.

"No... no, that's okay," Ranma choked for a moment, "It was... really great to hear that, uh, Mom. I never really thought about it that way," He took in a slow breath, "I've never really thought about having kids, though..." Ranma snuck a glance back at his mother. She was nodding and staring at the wall where their shadows were being cast.

"Then consider yourself lucky that you'll never have to deal with that," Mrs. Saotome said, no life in her voice. She stood and strolled for the hallway. She stopped and turned back to Ranma, "Try to see it from Akane's perspective, alright?"

...

"Ranma, wake up!" He was suddenly smacked over the head. His head shot up from the table. He rubbed his eyes and saw Nabiki, Kasumi, and Akane sitting around the table. He glared at Nabiki who had hit him.

Must've fallen asleep here, He thought to himself. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. Kasumi set the rice on the table, mixing and humming. Nabiki counted her money and Akane was gently sketching along a piece of paper. Ranma snuck a glance at the drawing on the paper. It was actually excellent, I didn't know Akane could draw, He thought.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kasumi asked from across the table. All eyes went to Ranma. He sat up straighter and that's when he felt the pounding in his head, "You look ill, Ranma." She leaned across the table and maternally placed her hand on Ranma's forehead. She quickly drew back, "I knew it. You're burning up." Ranma placed his hand on his forehead. He was pretty warm. "Go lie down," Kasumi ordered, "I'll bring breakfast to you."

Ranma stalked back to his bedroom, the feeling of being sick now weighing heavily on him. His feet felt like concrete and head felt dizzy. He kept getting too hot and too cold. By the time Ranma made it to his room beads of sweat had formed on his face. He slid the door open only to see Mrs. Saotome and Mr. Saotome spread out across the mats snoring. They were even stretched out across his. Dammit. Where am I gonna lie down? He heard Kasumi climb the stairs. She had a tray with a bowl of oatmeal, orange juice, and aspirin tablets.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "We'll have to put you in the sitting room," Ranma followed behind her drowsily. They came to the room across from Akane's. Kasumi nudged the door open, "You can go lie on that couch," Ranma crossed to it and leapt onto it, sinking into the comfort. Kasumi set the tray on the coffee table in the middle of the room. She pulled a thick quilt from the closet and smoothed it over the drowsy Ranma. She then handed him a pillow, "Try to eat before you go to bed," Kasumi told him, heading for the door. She turned back with a smile, "You'll be feeling better in no time." She then closed the door behind her, leaving Ranma alone.

I guess being alone for today isn't all bad, Ranma thought as he remained lying down on the couch. He curled up under the quilt, his head pounding. Stupid fever... Ranma yawned and closed his eyes for a moment. They shot open when his stomach emitted a loud growling sound. Guess I better eat like Kasumi said. Ranma sat up and slid the warm bowl of oatmeal into his hands.

"Hey, watch this!" Ranma's eyes shot up from his breakfast to see the girl with the pigtails jumping on the couch opposite of him. His brow furrowed as she did a backflip in mid air and landed it, "I'm gettin' better, ain't I, Dad?" The girl stopped jumping for a moment and it looked like she was listening, but she was staring straight at Ranma, "Oh! Mommy's birthday is tomorrow? Whaddya gonna do for her?" Another silence, "A dress? I hate dresses! But Mommy does enjoy dresses. Let's go!" The little girl hopped off the couch and bounded around it and she was gone.

Ranma sat there, the bowl of oatmeal forgotten in his hands. It's the fever, Ranma murmered. After he'd finished eating and he'd taken the aspirin, he decided to lie down. He thought he'd be able to sleep but he just found himself staring at the roof. He tossed and turned on the couch, getting more and more uncomfortable because of the unbearable heat. He kicked his quilt off and just got cold, so he pulled it back on. When he heard the door opening, he decided to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. The footsteps were lighter than Kasumi's. Someone knelt in front of him and pressed their hand to Ranma's forehead.

"Well, how is he?" He heard Kasumi's voice from the doorway.

"He's radiating heat," It was Akane's voice that was right next to him. It made his heart thud knowing Akane's hand was pressed to his forehead. She lowered her hand from his forehead, "I'll can feel his heat without even touching him," Akane whispered. Kasumi now entered the room.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "The aspirin didn't even reduce the fever."

They need to leave, Ranma thought, his eyes still shut. He was beginning to sweat uncontrollably under the quilt and wanted to kick off to cool down for a bit. They were still talking and gathering Ranma's breakfast back onto the tray.

"Akane, will you go get him a cool wash cloth to put on his forehead?" A clank of a dish made Ranma's head spin and pound. He listened to Akane's footsteps fade from the room. Kasumi knelt infront of him and lightly touched his shoulder, "Ranma... Ranma, wake up." His eyes slowly slid open to see Kasumi's concerned face, "Oh my," She said, "You're sweating a waterfall." Ranma sat up and the room began spinning. His head was pounding and he was growing colder since the quilt had slid down to his thighs. He touched his head and held his eyes shut for a moment. Akane reentered the room with a damp cloth in her hand. "Thank you, Akane." She accepted the rag. Akane sat on the arm of the couch by his feet. "You can lie down, Ranma." He did and she placed the rag on his forehead. It was cooling but it wasn't helping his spinning head. He spied Akane sitting on the edge of the couch just staring at him.

Suddenly, her expression changed. She was giggling, "I guess she's gotten really great, huh? She's just like you in so many different ways, it's only natural that she can beat you up like that," She just stared at Ranma, her eyes glistening, "She's really growing up. I can't believe it either. It seemed like just yesterday I figured out we were going to have her." Ranma blinked a few time and bolted up. The cold wash cloth thudding onto his thighs and he now stared Akane who was looking at him, her brow furrowed.

"What is it, Ranma?" Akane asked. He held his eyes, his eyebrows twitching.

It's just the fever, it's just the fever. Everything I've been hallucinating is all because it was leading up to a fever... Kasumi pressed her hand to his collar bone and lay him down again. She replaced the wash cloth.

"Get some rest," Kasumi said. She then gathered the tray and began for the door, "Maybe you can stay in here and keep an eye on him. His fever is a little high. He might start doing some out of character things." Akane left the room with Kasumi and left Ranma staring at the ceiling. He heard the door thud shut. He watched Akane, a sketch pad tucked under her arm, cross and sit on the couch on the opposite side of the coffee table. She sat criss cross and opened the book and began gliding her pencil across the paper.

How long has she been able to draw? Ranma asked himself. His eyes wandered back to the room. He just lay there, his head throbbing, the room spinning. Ranma felt his eyelids grow heavy. Akane looked up when she heard the thud of the wash cloth. It was now on the ground, Ranma's head lolled to the side as he under went a feverent dream. She crossed and picked the cloth up, setting it on the table. She could still feel the heat radiating off of him.

He's been under so much stress, Akane lowered herself beside the couch, staring at his face. There was red tinged across his face from the seriousness of the fever. His brow was furrowed, occasionally twitching and his teeth were ground together. She brought her cool hand up and lightly brushed her fingers across his damp cheek. He was sweating uncontrollably. Akane's eyes rested on the engagement ring on her finger. Her heart thudded as she remembered him handing it to her. I never thought we'd end up here, Akane thought. She sat criss cross next to the couch where Ranma was now. I never knew my feelings for him would grow so strong. I know he wasn't ready for it either. If Drager hadn't come into our lives... would I even have this ring on my finger? Would Ranma of just run off to Jusenkyo to cure himself? Would we still hate each other? Did Drager positively impact our life in some prespectives? She began twirling the ring on her finger, I gave him so many chances and he blew each one. It was because of that Obsessive Love Disorder... She twirled the ring fast now, maybe I should go visit him in the asylum. Sure, Ranma has been hit every single time he's gone there, but maybe they've learned and chained him to wall... or maybe decided to just keep Ranma and Drager rooms apart.

Akane left the room and crossed down the hall to the phone. She picked it up, "Hello, Operator. Can you direct me to the Tokyo Asylum, please?"

...

Ranma's eyes slid open. The room was still spinning, he was drenched in sweat, and he was radiating heat. He didn't dare move. He was beginning to ache all over. Ranma then realized he was alone. Akane sketch pad was on the table and he could clearly see her new sketch. Shaded and everything. Was writing and drawing something she sharped up on during her healing process? He remembered always seeing her scribble furiously in a journal but this was the first time had ever seen her with a charcoal pencil and a sketch pad.

"Oh, you're awake," Kasumi entered, lunch on a tray. "It's early afternoon," She told him, "You've been asleep for a long time." She set the tray on the table and began reaching her hand for Ranma's forehead, but she stopped, "You're still burning up." She clucked her tongue, "When Akane gets back this afternoon, I'll send for Dr. Tofu, alright?"

"Where's Akane?" Ranma asked. His voice hurt his head though.

"She went to go visit Drager," Kasumi replied, turning back to the tray. Ranma's eyes grew wide.

"How long has she been gone?" He was in pain but he continued to investigate.

"Maybe two or three hours ago."

Akane, what are you thinking?

...

"Drager Saotome, you got a vistor," The guard called through the door. He eased it open and turned back to Akane, "Don't worry. The room is under survelliance, so if he tries to hit you, we'll be here in seconds." Akane nodded and entered the room. The door slammed behind them. Akane looked around. The room was spongy and completely white. Drager looked up from where he was sitting at table. He was just sitting there, not doing anything. He looked shocked to see Akane.

"A... Akane! What are you doing here?" Drager shot to his feet and crossed to her. He took her hands in his and stared deep into her eyes.

"I just came to say hello," Akane murmered, putting distance between her and Drager, "I came because Ranma isn't going to come for a long time."

"He's probably never going to come again," Drager said, his jaw locked. Akane stared at him for a moment before she shook her head.

"No, Drager, Ranma is really sick," Akane told him, surprising Drager. "He woke up this morning with a low fever, but it's slowly gotten higher and higher," She sighed and shook her head, "I just wanted to come and visit you. Get away from the madness for a little bit."

"Akane, you'd rather be here than with your idotic fiancee? I'm touched," Drager smiled widely at her, "After all we've been through, I always knew we'd be together forever."

That's... not what I said, Akane thought. Her eyebrow twitched for a moment. She pursed her lips, "Did Ranma tell you... about my current state?" Akane asked, staring at the ground. "I mean... the new medical problems with me..."

"Uhm, I do not recall."

"Not... being able to have children," Akane whispered this, but she saw Drager tense up at it.

"Ah yes. Little brother did mention something about that," Drager replied darkly, "Good." Akane's head shot up when she heard that, "We don't need a little bastard like him running around."

Who says that our kids would be like that? Akane though angrily. "I gotta go. Ranma probably needs help." Drager stepped in her way for the door.

"Nuh-uh-uh," Drager wagged a finger at her, "You have to do something for me, Akane." She was silent, "Break me out of here." She staggered away from him, shaking her head.

"No," She said, "No, no, no." She went around him and forecively pushed the door open. She slammed it shut behind her. Drager peaked out between the bars into the hallway to see Akane shaking there. His eyes lay on her, begging her, messing with her mind. Akane bolted down the hallway, pumping her arms. Ranma, was all that was running through her mind.

...

"Wow," Dr. Tofu said once he was in the room. He sat down next to Ranma who stared back at him, "He's radiating heat," He looked back at Kasumi, Akane, and Mrs. Saotome. He did the standard check up on Ranma and even asked him to pump his arms back and forth as if he was running while he just sat up. After fifty-five seconds of it though, Ranma grew low on breath and began sweating even more. After Dr. Tofu concluded the test, Ranma was able to lie back down and wait for the news. Dr. Tofu rose and rounded the coffee table to the three women. "Ranma's fever is close to 104, which is getting close to hospitalization." Dr. Tofu explained, "If the fever grows over 105, send him to the Tokyo hospital. Don't take him to my clinic, the big city has to deal with after the 105 point. What Ranma has is pyrexia. Pyrexia is a high grade fever that is usually caused by stressed. Ranma's body is in overdrive which is why he is so hot and sick. He really shouldn't be under a cover and should only take cold baths."

"Pyrexia..." Mrs. Saotome murmered, touching her cheek lightly. Akane stared at Ranma, who had kicked off the covers. He was hugging himself, slightly shivering. He was freezing. His cheeks had gained red from the fever. He was sweating uncontrollably. Akane crossed and knelt infront of Ranma, her eyes boring into his. His eyes were dull. No life in them. She brought her hand up to his burning cheek and slowly grazed the tips of her finger down his face.

"A... Akane..." He whispered, making her heart thump. He brought his larger hand up and gently laid it on Akane's, the one resting on his jaw line. His hand was so hot it felt like Akane was pressed it hand against an open flame. Her eyes widened as they just sat there.

"You're getting warmer," Akane whispered.