Heart of Fire, Soul of Ice
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Part 6: The Savior
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Akane sat in the dojo, feeling her aura around her, seeing it as yellow golden in her mind. She kept her eyes closed, trying to focus that aura between her small hands, but everytime she almost got there, her concentration broke. She was getting frustrated.
She sighed, opening her eyes, and looks at the opposite wall of the dojo, her face tired. She didn't understand why she had to struggle with everything that came so easily to Ranma. After her lesson today, Ranma told her he was going to teach her how to manipulate her chi to do attacks and defense, and knew that only meant one thing.
She'd learned to control the vampiric tendencies of her aura.
While it made her happy, part of her realized that this meant that she wouldn't be able to ask Ranma to hold her after training. She groaned, flopping back onto her back. She was never going to be able to get control of her aura if she wanted Ranma to hold her all the time. She loved it when he held her after she trained. She loved it when he whispered her name into her hair in a husky, soft voice.
She lifted her left hand to her face, looking at the beautiful ring on her finger. Why had he waited so long to propose to her? She would have said yes ages ago. What was he so afraid of?
The answer was clear. She'd known it for a long time. He was afraid that she would reject him because of his curse.
She sat painfully, putting a hand to her stomache, where the dog had tried to rip her appart. She managed to get most of the way up, but fell back, since she felt tugging at her stitches. She winced as she hit the ground, lifting her shirt and looking down at her stomache. The jagged cuts made her want to run from the dojo and vomit. She felt ugly.
Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them and began to roll down her face. What did he see in her? Did he propose because he felt sorry for her? Because she needed protection? She tried to withhold her sobs, but they were being ripped from her chest by force. She curled up on her side, trembling, not wanting the world to see her tears.
Ranma walked in a short time later, and stopped upon seeing her. "Akane?" He asked gently, walking over and kneeling beside her prone form. "Are you alright?"
Akane just waved her hand, trying to indicate she wanted to be alone.
He sighed, putting his hands on her upper arms and coaxing her into a sitting position. "Come on, sweetheart, I said we were going to start chi training today, remember?" He saw the tears on her cheeks and gently wiped them away. "Love, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing..." She choaked. "It's just..." She lifted her eyes and saw concern shining in his deep, ocean blue eyes. She threw her arms around him. "I'm ugly, aren't I..." She whispered. "I'm scarred and ugly..."
He blinked, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away. "What are you talking about?" He whispered, cupping her face and lifting it so he could look into it. "Ugly?" His eyes searched hers. "Akane, I don't care about the scars...I care about what's in here..." He rested his hand against the middle of her chest, his other caressing the back of her head. "Now come on, let's get to work." He hooked his hands under her armpits and hauled her onto her feet, careful not to put stress on the stitches.
Akane stared up at him, her eyes swimming. "What if I don't get it right?"
Ranma looked over and gave her a heart-stopping grin. "Akane, you can do anything. I learned that from training you. You're nowhere near your maximum potential yet. You'll get it. It just may take time."
She sighed, searching for an emotion strong enough to generate chi. The first thing she thought of was her anger, but that wasn't the best idea. She'd learned from Cologne that chi attacks using emotions tend to make that emotion stronger.
Confidence wasn't going to work either, because she wasn't feeling very confident about this at the moment. "Ranma..." She began nervously.
He walked over towards her, and placed a hand on either shoulder. "It's okay, Akane. I'll help you. There's no way you couldn't get this." He smiled at her gently, brushing her hair from her face and kissing her forhead gently.
She sighed, nodding, and letting him get behind her, cupping his hands around her own. "N-now what?"
He put his lips towards her ear, and smiled, smelling the sweet smell of her shampoo. "Okay, first, relax. This isn't something people usually get the first time, or even the first couple of times..."
"That's comforting..." She complained. "You learned hiryu shoten ha in a day."
"That's because I'm so stubborn I wont sleep when I'm trying to learn a new move." He said, grinning wryly. "Besides, I didn't get it right for a long time, either." Gently, he pressed a kiss to her neck. "Now relax and concentrate on an emotion that's stronger than any other."
She shivered at the feeling of his lips against her throat. Maybe she should ask him what she should use. But that wouldn't do. She had to do this in a reasonable way. She needed to think of something strong...Her eyes lit up. Happiness was an emotion! She closed her eyes and concentrated on it. This had to work. She was happy, after all! Ranma's arms were around her, his lips near her ear, gently instructing her about how exactly she was supposed to do this.
Ranma felt her aura growing warmer and warmer. "Now, focus that feeling between your hands." He said, his breath stirring the air beside her ear. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her shoulder in the relaxed hug.
I can do this, I can do this, I MUST do this...she chanted to herself mentally, while trying to force the energy down her arms and through her palms. She was getting so tired. She managed to get a little of the warmth to spread down her arms to her elbows, but it refused to go any farther. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she mentally begged it. Please...please, I want Ranma to be proud of me...oh, gods, please...
But it was too late. Her happiness was gone, and her aura had now fizzed out.
He could feel her trembling as the chi dispensed. He opened his eyes and smiled. "You did great." He said softly.
"I...I can't do it!" She burst into tears. "I was trying to be happy, because that's a positive emotion, right?! But I couldn't do it!"
Ranma sat, pulling her into his lap. "It's okay, Akane!" He insisted. You remember how long it took me before I could find an emotion that would counter Shi Shi Hokodan?" He stroaked her hair gently. "Maybe happiness isn't the emotion you should try to use."
"But...that's the only positive one that I know!" She clung to him, crying.
"Hey, that's not true..." He said softly, his face somewhat hurt. "There are other, stronger emotions." He ran a hand through her hair, smiling gently. "Don't worry, Akane, you did great for a first time."
"But still not as good as you..." She refused to look at him. "I...I wanted to make you proud of me..." She began shaking again and put her face in her hands. "I wanted to do something good, and make you proud of me..."
He soothed her hair back gently. "Akane, I AM proud of you..." He whispered, easing her face up. "How could I NOT be proud of you? You're so strong, stronger than me, believe it or not. My skills have almost reached their peak... when your's do, you're going to be able to clean the floor with me." He kissed her tears, then her lips. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll work on it again tomorrow."
She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her gi sleeve. "Thank you, Ranma." She said, trying to smile, and failing miserably. She only managed to look more pitiful, more miserable. She saw the pain on Ranma's face and quickly turned to go. "Thank you for everything." She ran from the dojo, refusing to look back.
Ranma watched her go and sighed. If only he was better with words. Then, maybe she wouldn't look so sad. Then, maybe he'd be able to make her feel better. He groaned deep in his throat and plopped down in the middle of the dojo. He really needed to brush up on his people skills.
Glancing around the dojo, he searches for something to take his mind off the stress of actually failing in something. He wished he could go to Akane and hold her, and make her smile, but he knew she wouldn't let him. She was too proud. I wish she'd let me be strong for her...he thought, closing his eyes and flopping back to his back. It made him really upset that he could never be as close to Akane as he'd like to be because of both of their pride.
Her's refused to let her want to love a guy, especially a pervert one like him. His hands shook a bit. Was that why she hadn't said yes when he proposed? He wondered, putting a hand to his face. Maybe she only wanted a friend with benifits at the moment? Was it his curse? Was she really not intrested in marrying him...?
He rolled onto his stomache. Their pride was a pain. His didn't want him to marry her because that would mean letting his father know he did something right for the first time in his life. He continued to shift as he though, eventually winding up face up again, with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, hot breath swept across his face, and he opened his eyes, startled.
The dog that had attacked Akane was leaning over him, drool dripping from it's mouth...
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Fushicho sat in the library, looking up ancient lore, her eyes troubled. She'd noticed the evil aura approaching the city of Nerima, and it frightened her. A precious few things were able to frighten the Goddess of Fire. She shook her head, rubbing her neck. She'd been through half of the ancient lore in the place, and it was taking too long.
Maybe she should just go ask the other spirits.
That was another thing that bothered her. The others usually tried to avoid the human realm, aside from herself and Oukami, who were closer to their charges than the other four. What had managed to get them down here? She was almost certain that it involved what Oukami had been speaking about.
But what would frighten them so much that they'd leave the safety of heaven and come to earth? The lack of answers to the questions that were filling her brain was beginning to make her head hurt. Something about being in great danger...surely, there must be something.
She scratched the top of her head, pouring over another book, when suddenly, a feeling of great terror grabbed her. She tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes, trying to pick up more. More of whatever was being transmitted from the realm of heaven, through the realm of Earth.
"...Time to...battle...death...cross us...go...Nerima...Saot...Ran...God...Battle...time... s...now..."
She only caught fleeting bits of the message, but it made her heart freeze. "Saotome Ranma..." Her eyes darted around madly, fear grasping her. A more recent addition to heaven had been very intrested in the human named Saotome Ranma. He seemed too intrested. What was his name again?
She tapped her teeth, flipping through the book hurriedly, trying to remember.
'And death shall come to those who cross us. The time for the final battle has come. Go to the sacred city, and fight the battle over the fate of the world.'
Her eyes halted at that passage. It was so close...but slightly different. She looked for an explanation, and she saw that it was a contest run by the God of Battle, held every million years, to decide who would take the place as the ruler of Earth. Usually, this position was held by a god, the last one to win was the present god, the God of Rebirth.
As far as she knew, there were no plans of having another match for at least another thousand years.
What was going on?!
Her mind flashed to a conversation she'd walked in on, between the runt and the God of Battle. Her eyes widened in fear. "Masaka?!" She slammed the book closed and grabbed her jacket. She almost broke the door as she hit it, pushing it open and running out into the elements. She had to talk to Oukami.
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Oukami was walking home, a nice, tall vanilla ice cream in his hands. He was wearing a moderately carefree expression on his face, not unusual for him. He had known what was going to happen, which was easy, being the brother of the God of the Future. More frequently than he'd ever admitted, he'd taken a peek into his brother's crystal ball and seen what was going to happen to his charge.
Oh, true, he knew about the God of Death's plan. He also knew the fates of all the contestants in the battle, as well. Even Ranma and Akane's. He knew what the outcome of the battle would be and that suited him just fine. He leaned down to take a bite of his ice cream, and as he did, something ran directly into him, causing the ice cream to go all over his face.
He wasn't happy.
He turned to face the offender and found Fushicho with a furious expression on her face. "Fushicho..." He stared at her for a long moment.
"You..." She panted for breath. "You knew about this..." Her eyes became more bird-like and some of her hair, which was falling out, turning into feathers as they pulled away from her scalp.
His eyes widened. "Fushicho?" He put his hands on her shoulders, helping her stand upright. "What are you talking about?"
"I know what the God of Death is planning." Fushicho panted, her face pale. "I know that he has talked the God of Battle into holding another Battle! I caught a snippet of the message he's sending to all the martial artists!" She stared into his pale silver eyes, her black one's furious. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
He held up a hand, placing it over her lips. "Fushicho, we must talk...in private. This isn't something the humans should hear yet." He pulled out a handkerchief and mopped the ice cream from his face. "Do not worry, I know how this is all going to turn out. But no, I wont tell you."
"Oukami-"
"It is better if fewer people directly involved actually know how this is going to end, my student. Remember that."
She nodded with a sigh and let him lead her away.
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Ranma managed to roll from under the beast seconds before it tried to rip his face off his skull. He flipped back up onto his feet, his eyes wide. He noticed it was alot larger than it had looked last night. He swallowed hard, eyeing it carefully. It was stalking towards it, and he barely managed to keep eyecontact with it as they circled each other.
"Prey for the predator..." A soft, silken voice purred.
Ranma was distracted by it long enough that the dog had time to lunge towards him, slamming him forcefully into the wall of the dojo.
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Akane looked, up, feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head. She looked towards her window and saw the dojo light was on. "I should probably go talk to him..." Besides, she wouldn't admit it, but she wanted him to hold her again.
She stood, stretching and walked out the door.
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Ranma kicked the dog away, and stood, trying to ignore the fact that his vision was blurring. Blows to the head always worried him. He wasn't built like a sherman tank like Ryouga, and although being almost constantly malleted in the head by Akane helped some, one hit from her was alot different from being tackled into a wall when you're not expecting it.
He forced himself to keep an eye on the dog, it's three heads, six eyes, which were now turning into twelve...He shook his head hard, trying to stay focused.
The dog lunged again, knocking him to the floor, even though he tried to dodge. He managed to keep his hands on it's breastbone, keeping it from being able to tear at his skin with it's sharp teeth. But his strength was failing, his eyesight blurring more.
The last thing he heard before slipping into blissful darkness was the sound of Akane calling out his name.
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Akane screamed when she entered the dojo. Ranma was barely holding the three-headed dog back, but she could tell that he wasn't doing well. There was a small crack in the back of the dojo, and a bit of blood on the wall, and pooling under his head.
His eyes had slipped closed by the time she had managed to get into the dojo, his body limp, his hand slippnig away from the dog's breastbone.
Tears filled her eyes. "Ranma...?" She whispered, her hands trembling. She took a step towards him, but stopped at the sound of the dog growling at her. Her eyes turned towards it, burning in angry pain. She heard the rest of the family joining, but right now, she didn't want their help. She heard Kasumi run to call the doctor, but she was too busy circling the dojo, the dog stalking her all the way.
Now, she understood what he meant by stronger emotions. She could feel concern for him building in her chest. That concern was sprouting from a far deeper well. A well called love. Her aura grew around her, and she trembled. She needed to know that he was alright, but if she turned her back on the dog, she'd be dead, and she knew it.
Finally, she knew there was only one way to get the dog out of the way and not have to approach it. She had to try a chi blast. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her lobe for Ranma, and she felt her aura growing larger. She opened her eyes, and saw the dog had stalked closer, all three of it's head slobering, blood dripping from it's teeth, crusted blood on it's claws. She felt the chi gathering in her hands and she ignored the tear that cascaded down her face.
A cry careened from her lips, and she closed her eyes again. "FUSHICHO-AI- HA!" She cried, tears falling down her face. She felt herself get blasted to the floor from the force of her own blast, but forced her eyes open so she could defend against the dog if she should need to. She watched as her chi sped towards the dog, and then, the dog was gone, as if it had disintegrated. When the chi dispelled, all that was left was a small patch of soot on the floor where the dog had once stood.
Akane looked beside her and saw she'd landed next to Ranma. Her eyes filled with tears as she rolled towards him, lifting her hand to his face, caressing it gently. "Are you proud of me, Ranma?" She asked, a tear splashing onto his face. "Are you, love? I did it, you knew I could, and I did...I found a stronger emotion..."
She felt her families hands pulling her away from Ranma as doctor Tofu entered and began to check his vital signs. She watched, tears rolling down her face unchecked. Please, be alive, please don't leave me, Ranma...please...
Tofu looked up at Akane and smiled gently. "He's unconsious, but alive." He said gently. "Genma, if you could take him upstairs and find a place to put him, preferably with a bed?"
Akane broke free of her family and ran to the doctor, throwing her arms around him and crying into his gi. He was alive. He was alive. She didn't notice it when he picked her up, carrying her up to her room, nor when he sat her on her bed, letting her cry into his gi. She didn't realize she fell asleep sitting there, nor did she feel him pry her fingers off his gi, and lay her back on the bed.
She did, however, notice the sun shining directly into her eyes at about eleven the next day.
She rolled onto her other side, trying to go back to sleep, until the events of the previous day returned to her and forced her to jump out of her bed and bolt from the room, towards Ranma's.
He was laying next to an empty spot in the room, looking extremely pale compared to his usual tan. He was alive.
Tears filled Akane's eyes and she walked towards him, falling to her knees beside his bedside. Slowly, she lifted his hand to her face and kissed the palm, holding it to her face. "Hello, love..." She whispered, a happy tear falling down her face. It wasn't a dream, he was really still alive. She'd been so afraid last night, seeing him laying so still, that blood under his head and on the wall.
She'd never known fear before then.
She carefully held his hand, her eyes swimming with happiness. He was still here, though. When he woke, he'd be asking her about her chi blast, and she'd tell him which emotion she'd used, and everything would be alright.
Suddenly, a sharp pang of guilt grasped her. She hadn't answered when he proposed to her. She turned the ring around and around on her finger, her hands shaking. What was she going to tell him? She loved him, she really did, but was she ready to marry him yet? Yes. The answer was amazingly simple. Her lips turned up into a smile and she leaned over, kissing him lightly on the lips before she stood and went to get herself some food. "Thank you, Ranma..." She whispered, smiling. Thank you, my darling.
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Part 6: The Savior
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Akane sat in the dojo, feeling her aura around her, seeing it as yellow golden in her mind. She kept her eyes closed, trying to focus that aura between her small hands, but everytime she almost got there, her concentration broke. She was getting frustrated.
She sighed, opening her eyes, and looks at the opposite wall of the dojo, her face tired. She didn't understand why she had to struggle with everything that came so easily to Ranma. After her lesson today, Ranma told her he was going to teach her how to manipulate her chi to do attacks and defense, and knew that only meant one thing.
She'd learned to control the vampiric tendencies of her aura.
While it made her happy, part of her realized that this meant that she wouldn't be able to ask Ranma to hold her after training. She groaned, flopping back onto her back. She was never going to be able to get control of her aura if she wanted Ranma to hold her all the time. She loved it when he held her after she trained. She loved it when he whispered her name into her hair in a husky, soft voice.
She lifted her left hand to her face, looking at the beautiful ring on her finger. Why had he waited so long to propose to her? She would have said yes ages ago. What was he so afraid of?
The answer was clear. She'd known it for a long time. He was afraid that she would reject him because of his curse.
She sat painfully, putting a hand to her stomache, where the dog had tried to rip her appart. She managed to get most of the way up, but fell back, since she felt tugging at her stitches. She winced as she hit the ground, lifting her shirt and looking down at her stomache. The jagged cuts made her want to run from the dojo and vomit. She felt ugly.
Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them and began to roll down her face. What did he see in her? Did he propose because he felt sorry for her? Because she needed protection? She tried to withhold her sobs, but they were being ripped from her chest by force. She curled up on her side, trembling, not wanting the world to see her tears.
Ranma walked in a short time later, and stopped upon seeing her. "Akane?" He asked gently, walking over and kneeling beside her prone form. "Are you alright?"
Akane just waved her hand, trying to indicate she wanted to be alone.
He sighed, putting his hands on her upper arms and coaxing her into a sitting position. "Come on, sweetheart, I said we were going to start chi training today, remember?" He saw the tears on her cheeks and gently wiped them away. "Love, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing..." She choaked. "It's just..." She lifted her eyes and saw concern shining in his deep, ocean blue eyes. She threw her arms around him. "I'm ugly, aren't I..." She whispered. "I'm scarred and ugly..."
He blinked, putting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away. "What are you talking about?" He whispered, cupping her face and lifting it so he could look into it. "Ugly?" His eyes searched hers. "Akane, I don't care about the scars...I care about what's in here..." He rested his hand against the middle of her chest, his other caressing the back of her head. "Now come on, let's get to work." He hooked his hands under her armpits and hauled her onto her feet, careful not to put stress on the stitches.
Akane stared up at him, her eyes swimming. "What if I don't get it right?"
Ranma looked over and gave her a heart-stopping grin. "Akane, you can do anything. I learned that from training you. You're nowhere near your maximum potential yet. You'll get it. It just may take time."
She sighed, searching for an emotion strong enough to generate chi. The first thing she thought of was her anger, but that wasn't the best idea. She'd learned from Cologne that chi attacks using emotions tend to make that emotion stronger.
Confidence wasn't going to work either, because she wasn't feeling very confident about this at the moment. "Ranma..." She began nervously.
He walked over towards her, and placed a hand on either shoulder. "It's okay, Akane. I'll help you. There's no way you couldn't get this." He smiled at her gently, brushing her hair from her face and kissing her forhead gently.
She sighed, nodding, and letting him get behind her, cupping his hands around her own. "N-now what?"
He put his lips towards her ear, and smiled, smelling the sweet smell of her shampoo. "Okay, first, relax. This isn't something people usually get the first time, or even the first couple of times..."
"That's comforting..." She complained. "You learned hiryu shoten ha in a day."
"That's because I'm so stubborn I wont sleep when I'm trying to learn a new move." He said, grinning wryly. "Besides, I didn't get it right for a long time, either." Gently, he pressed a kiss to her neck. "Now relax and concentrate on an emotion that's stronger than any other."
She shivered at the feeling of his lips against her throat. Maybe she should ask him what she should use. But that wouldn't do. She had to do this in a reasonable way. She needed to think of something strong...Her eyes lit up. Happiness was an emotion! She closed her eyes and concentrated on it. This had to work. She was happy, after all! Ranma's arms were around her, his lips near her ear, gently instructing her about how exactly she was supposed to do this.
Ranma felt her aura growing warmer and warmer. "Now, focus that feeling between your hands." He said, his breath stirring the air beside her ear. He closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her shoulder in the relaxed hug.
I can do this, I can do this, I MUST do this...she chanted to herself mentally, while trying to force the energy down her arms and through her palms. She was getting so tired. She managed to get a little of the warmth to spread down her arms to her elbows, but it refused to go any farther. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she mentally begged it. Please...please, I want Ranma to be proud of me...oh, gods, please...
But it was too late. Her happiness was gone, and her aura had now fizzed out.
He could feel her trembling as the chi dispensed. He opened his eyes and smiled. "You did great." He said softly.
"I...I can't do it!" She burst into tears. "I was trying to be happy, because that's a positive emotion, right?! But I couldn't do it!"
Ranma sat, pulling her into his lap. "It's okay, Akane!" He insisted. You remember how long it took me before I could find an emotion that would counter Shi Shi Hokodan?" He stroaked her hair gently. "Maybe happiness isn't the emotion you should try to use."
"But...that's the only positive one that I know!" She clung to him, crying.
"Hey, that's not true..." He said softly, his face somewhat hurt. "There are other, stronger emotions." He ran a hand through her hair, smiling gently. "Don't worry, Akane, you did great for a first time."
"But still not as good as you..." She refused to look at him. "I...I wanted to make you proud of me..." She began shaking again and put her face in her hands. "I wanted to do something good, and make you proud of me..."
He soothed her hair back gently. "Akane, I AM proud of you..." He whispered, easing her face up. "How could I NOT be proud of you? You're so strong, stronger than me, believe it or not. My skills have almost reached their peak... when your's do, you're going to be able to clean the floor with me." He kissed her tears, then her lips. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll work on it again tomorrow."
She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her gi sleeve. "Thank you, Ranma." She said, trying to smile, and failing miserably. She only managed to look more pitiful, more miserable. She saw the pain on Ranma's face and quickly turned to go. "Thank you for everything." She ran from the dojo, refusing to look back.
Ranma watched her go and sighed. If only he was better with words. Then, maybe she wouldn't look so sad. Then, maybe he'd be able to make her feel better. He groaned deep in his throat and plopped down in the middle of the dojo. He really needed to brush up on his people skills.
Glancing around the dojo, he searches for something to take his mind off the stress of actually failing in something. He wished he could go to Akane and hold her, and make her smile, but he knew she wouldn't let him. She was too proud. I wish she'd let me be strong for her...he thought, closing his eyes and flopping back to his back. It made him really upset that he could never be as close to Akane as he'd like to be because of both of their pride.
Her's refused to let her want to love a guy, especially a pervert one like him. His hands shook a bit. Was that why she hadn't said yes when he proposed? He wondered, putting a hand to his face. Maybe she only wanted a friend with benifits at the moment? Was it his curse? Was she really not intrested in marrying him...?
He rolled onto his stomache. Their pride was a pain. His didn't want him to marry her because that would mean letting his father know he did something right for the first time in his life. He continued to shift as he though, eventually winding up face up again, with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, hot breath swept across his face, and he opened his eyes, startled.
The dog that had attacked Akane was leaning over him, drool dripping from it's mouth...
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Fushicho sat in the library, looking up ancient lore, her eyes troubled. She'd noticed the evil aura approaching the city of Nerima, and it frightened her. A precious few things were able to frighten the Goddess of Fire. She shook her head, rubbing her neck. She'd been through half of the ancient lore in the place, and it was taking too long.
Maybe she should just go ask the other spirits.
That was another thing that bothered her. The others usually tried to avoid the human realm, aside from herself and Oukami, who were closer to their charges than the other four. What had managed to get them down here? She was almost certain that it involved what Oukami had been speaking about.
But what would frighten them so much that they'd leave the safety of heaven and come to earth? The lack of answers to the questions that were filling her brain was beginning to make her head hurt. Something about being in great danger...surely, there must be something.
She scratched the top of her head, pouring over another book, when suddenly, a feeling of great terror grabbed her. She tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes, trying to pick up more. More of whatever was being transmitted from the realm of heaven, through the realm of Earth.
"...Time to...battle...death...cross us...go...Nerima...Saot...Ran...God...Battle...time... s...now..."
She only caught fleeting bits of the message, but it made her heart freeze. "Saotome Ranma..." Her eyes darted around madly, fear grasping her. A more recent addition to heaven had been very intrested in the human named Saotome Ranma. He seemed too intrested. What was his name again?
She tapped her teeth, flipping through the book hurriedly, trying to remember.
'And death shall come to those who cross us. The time for the final battle has come. Go to the sacred city, and fight the battle over the fate of the world.'
Her eyes halted at that passage. It was so close...but slightly different. She looked for an explanation, and she saw that it was a contest run by the God of Battle, held every million years, to decide who would take the place as the ruler of Earth. Usually, this position was held by a god, the last one to win was the present god, the God of Rebirth.
As far as she knew, there were no plans of having another match for at least another thousand years.
What was going on?!
Her mind flashed to a conversation she'd walked in on, between the runt and the God of Battle. Her eyes widened in fear. "Masaka?!" She slammed the book closed and grabbed her jacket. She almost broke the door as she hit it, pushing it open and running out into the elements. She had to talk to Oukami.
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Oukami was walking home, a nice, tall vanilla ice cream in his hands. He was wearing a moderately carefree expression on his face, not unusual for him. He had known what was going to happen, which was easy, being the brother of the God of the Future. More frequently than he'd ever admitted, he'd taken a peek into his brother's crystal ball and seen what was going to happen to his charge.
Oh, true, he knew about the God of Death's plan. He also knew the fates of all the contestants in the battle, as well. Even Ranma and Akane's. He knew what the outcome of the battle would be and that suited him just fine. He leaned down to take a bite of his ice cream, and as he did, something ran directly into him, causing the ice cream to go all over his face.
He wasn't happy.
He turned to face the offender and found Fushicho with a furious expression on her face. "Fushicho..." He stared at her for a long moment.
"You..." She panted for breath. "You knew about this..." Her eyes became more bird-like and some of her hair, which was falling out, turning into feathers as they pulled away from her scalp.
His eyes widened. "Fushicho?" He put his hands on her shoulders, helping her stand upright. "What are you talking about?"
"I know what the God of Death is planning." Fushicho panted, her face pale. "I know that he has talked the God of Battle into holding another Battle! I caught a snippet of the message he's sending to all the martial artists!" She stared into his pale silver eyes, her black one's furious. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
He held up a hand, placing it over her lips. "Fushicho, we must talk...in private. This isn't something the humans should hear yet." He pulled out a handkerchief and mopped the ice cream from his face. "Do not worry, I know how this is all going to turn out. But no, I wont tell you."
"Oukami-"
"It is better if fewer people directly involved actually know how this is going to end, my student. Remember that."
She nodded with a sigh and let him lead her away.
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Ranma managed to roll from under the beast seconds before it tried to rip his face off his skull. He flipped back up onto his feet, his eyes wide. He noticed it was alot larger than it had looked last night. He swallowed hard, eyeing it carefully. It was stalking towards it, and he barely managed to keep eyecontact with it as they circled each other.
"Prey for the predator..." A soft, silken voice purred.
Ranma was distracted by it long enough that the dog had time to lunge towards him, slamming him forcefully into the wall of the dojo.
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Akane looked, up, feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head. She looked towards her window and saw the dojo light was on. "I should probably go talk to him..." Besides, she wouldn't admit it, but she wanted him to hold her again.
She stood, stretching and walked out the door.
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Ranma kicked the dog away, and stood, trying to ignore the fact that his vision was blurring. Blows to the head always worried him. He wasn't built like a sherman tank like Ryouga, and although being almost constantly malleted in the head by Akane helped some, one hit from her was alot different from being tackled into a wall when you're not expecting it.
He forced himself to keep an eye on the dog, it's three heads, six eyes, which were now turning into twelve...He shook his head hard, trying to stay focused.
The dog lunged again, knocking him to the floor, even though he tried to dodge. He managed to keep his hands on it's breastbone, keeping it from being able to tear at his skin with it's sharp teeth. But his strength was failing, his eyesight blurring more.
The last thing he heard before slipping into blissful darkness was the sound of Akane calling out his name.
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Akane screamed when she entered the dojo. Ranma was barely holding the three-headed dog back, but she could tell that he wasn't doing well. There was a small crack in the back of the dojo, and a bit of blood on the wall, and pooling under his head.
His eyes had slipped closed by the time she had managed to get into the dojo, his body limp, his hand slippnig away from the dog's breastbone.
Tears filled her eyes. "Ranma...?" She whispered, her hands trembling. She took a step towards him, but stopped at the sound of the dog growling at her. Her eyes turned towards it, burning in angry pain. She heard the rest of the family joining, but right now, she didn't want their help. She heard Kasumi run to call the doctor, but she was too busy circling the dojo, the dog stalking her all the way.
Now, she understood what he meant by stronger emotions. She could feel concern for him building in her chest. That concern was sprouting from a far deeper well. A well called love. Her aura grew around her, and she trembled. She needed to know that he was alright, but if she turned her back on the dog, she'd be dead, and she knew it.
Finally, she knew there was only one way to get the dog out of the way and not have to approach it. She had to try a chi blast. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her lobe for Ranma, and she felt her aura growing larger. She opened her eyes, and saw the dog had stalked closer, all three of it's head slobering, blood dripping from it's teeth, crusted blood on it's claws. She felt the chi gathering in her hands and she ignored the tear that cascaded down her face.
A cry careened from her lips, and she closed her eyes again. "FUSHICHO-AI- HA!" She cried, tears falling down her face. She felt herself get blasted to the floor from the force of her own blast, but forced her eyes open so she could defend against the dog if she should need to. She watched as her chi sped towards the dog, and then, the dog was gone, as if it had disintegrated. When the chi dispelled, all that was left was a small patch of soot on the floor where the dog had once stood.
Akane looked beside her and saw she'd landed next to Ranma. Her eyes filled with tears as she rolled towards him, lifting her hand to his face, caressing it gently. "Are you proud of me, Ranma?" She asked, a tear splashing onto his face. "Are you, love? I did it, you knew I could, and I did...I found a stronger emotion..."
She felt her families hands pulling her away from Ranma as doctor Tofu entered and began to check his vital signs. She watched, tears rolling down her face unchecked. Please, be alive, please don't leave me, Ranma...please...
Tofu looked up at Akane and smiled gently. "He's unconsious, but alive." He said gently. "Genma, if you could take him upstairs and find a place to put him, preferably with a bed?"
Akane broke free of her family and ran to the doctor, throwing her arms around him and crying into his gi. He was alive. He was alive. She didn't notice it when he picked her up, carrying her up to her room, nor when he sat her on her bed, letting her cry into his gi. She didn't realize she fell asleep sitting there, nor did she feel him pry her fingers off his gi, and lay her back on the bed.
She did, however, notice the sun shining directly into her eyes at about eleven the next day.
She rolled onto her other side, trying to go back to sleep, until the events of the previous day returned to her and forced her to jump out of her bed and bolt from the room, towards Ranma's.
He was laying next to an empty spot in the room, looking extremely pale compared to his usual tan. He was alive.
Tears filled Akane's eyes and she walked towards him, falling to her knees beside his bedside. Slowly, she lifted his hand to her face and kissed the palm, holding it to her face. "Hello, love..." She whispered, a happy tear falling down her face. It wasn't a dream, he was really still alive. She'd been so afraid last night, seeing him laying so still, that blood under his head and on the wall.
She'd never known fear before then.
She carefully held his hand, her eyes swimming with happiness. He was still here, though. When he woke, he'd be asking her about her chi blast, and she'd tell him which emotion she'd used, and everything would be alright.
Suddenly, a sharp pang of guilt grasped her. She hadn't answered when he proposed to her. She turned the ring around and around on her finger, her hands shaking. What was she going to tell him? She loved him, she really did, but was she ready to marry him yet? Yes. The answer was amazingly simple. Her lips turned up into a smile and she leaned over, kissing him lightly on the lips before she stood and went to get herself some food. "Thank you, Ranma..." She whispered, smiling. Thank you, my darling.