Chapter Four: Memories
Ranma opened the door quietly. Akane had already fallen asleep. He quietly set her down on his bed and covered her up with the blankets. He sat down in his chair and picked up the book he had been reading. It was a part of a collection of books on shiatsu techniques. Many of them proved to be extremely useful and Ranma could already see where they could be used, both in help and in combat. Ranma looked up from the book and looked at Akane's face. He thought back to the many times he had done this before, just sitting down next to Akane and watching her sleep. Ranma smiled. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
It was his first chance to really think about what had all happened to him in the past few days. He wondered what everyone else was doing. Ryoga was probably lost somewhere. Ranma smiled at that thought. Ukyo was probably living a much happier life without him in it. His smiled weakened at the thought of losing his best friend. She really was important to him, just not to the extent that Akane was. Then there were the Amazons. They had caused the majority of his problems in the past and this one was no different, except this time Ranma couldn't do anything about it. They had flipped his world upside down leaving him stranded in the past in a world unknown to the one he had been living in.
He had no family anymore either. That thought brought Ranma to a halt. He slumped forward and looked down. Tears breached the edges of his eye but he did nothing to stop them as they slowly slipped down his face. Each drop fell slowly splashing away into nothing as they hit the ground. Ranma thought back to the moment he had made peace with his mother finally. They had gone off, just the two of them, and had one of the best days Ranma could remember. They had gone out to eat and just caught up on each other's lives. Ranma remembered the feeling of joy he had had just being with his mom. Then there was the old man. Ranma shook his head. His father. He had taught Ranma everything he had known making him what he was today. Ranma curled his hand into a fist and placed it at his heart, tears still falling. Ranma resolved to visit his parent's graves as soon as he could.
That was when he heard Akane whisper in her sleep. Ranma smiled silently. Had he heard what she had been whispering about, Ranma probably would have been much more interested.
*****
Akane had fallen asleep in Ranma's arms again. Whenever she had been near him she had felt such a feeling of comfort that she had just curled up to his chest and fallen asleep. She couldn't even explain what was going on in her. It was as soon as she had fallen asleep that she had found herself back at her house. She looked around curiously wondering why she was here when she realized something.
'Must be a dream,' Akane thought in her semi-conscious state.
She walked around when she heard a lot of noise from outside her house. She rushed out only to find two blurs charging at each other. She watched in fascination as she slowly realized the form of the two blurs.
'A panda? Well, at least I know it's a dream.' Akane thought when she saw the other fighter, or at least part of.
She noticed the bright red shirt and the dark black pants, then the ponytail whipping around the head as the body turned, avoiding a kick.
'That can't be.' Akane thought when the fighting abruptly stopped as a sweet voice from inside called out to them.
"Time for breakfast!" Kasumi called out.
Akane stared as she focused in on the person, or rather the boy. Akane gasped. It was Ranma.
'What the hell! Why am I dreaming about him again!' Akane yelled at herself.
That was when the Panda jumped out of the koi pond it had fallen into splashing water all over Ranma. Akane's eyes widened when Ranma started to change. The hair was the fist thing she noticed, a vibrant red color, then, the body shape. Ranma had shrunk and grown. breasts? Akane stared hard as she realized Ranma had suddenly changed into a girl. The last thought that crossed her mind before she bolted awake was something Akane didn't understand.
'Hot water.'
Akane shot up in a daze. She looked around as her vision cleared. That was when she noticed the beginnings of sunlight coming in through the shades. It took her mere seconds more to locate Ranma, who had fallen asleep in his chair. She got out of the bed and approached him to cover him with the blanket when she noticed the marks on Ranma's face. There were streaks on Ranma's face, indicating a stream of tears.
'He. he cried himself to sleep?' Akane thought.
A sharp pain entered her heart as she silently thought of what could possibly make him cry. That was of course when Ranma decided it was a good time to wake up himself. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself gazing straight into Akane's.
"Kawaii." Ranma muttered under his breath.
Akane blushed brightly but didn't move. She wasn't sure why but the look Ranma had given her had frozen her solid. It was a look that Akane couldn't really identify. That was of course when Ranma panicked and shot back.
"Ah! Oh, uh. Akane, how you feeling?" Ranma said, trying to recover from the awkward moment.
Akane, broken from her frozen state, blinked, then shot up and stuttered to Ranma.
"Um, I just got up and was just checking on you."
'God, that sounded stupid! Baka!' Akane yelled at herself.
Ranma just stared at her when he noticed a chill on his face. He slowly felt his face when he noticed the traces of his tears. He quickly wiped his face and put up a smile.
"I'm fine! Really I am." Ranma said quickly.
"Fine! You don't have to tell me." Akane said trying to sound angry only to find her voice taking on a tone of sadness.
'What the hell. why am I falling apart just cause he won't tell me something. what's wrong with me?'
Akane just turned around and walked out the door. Ranma just sat down and stared at the ground.
"You wouldn't understand. you couldn't understand." Ranma whispered sadly.
*****
Akane walked downstairs with a slight limp. The pain was mostly gone but she wanted to make sure that it healed completely before applying any pressure to the sprain. She passed Dr. Tofu, who said hi, without even acknowledging his presence. Dr. Tofu looked at her, and then shrugged his shoulders.
'Wonder what's wrong with her.' he thought.
Dr. Tofu walked into Ranma's room to see if Ranma knew what was wrong only to find himself looking at one of the most depressing expressions he had seen in a long time. Dr. Tofu looked closer at Ranma's face noting the lines of stress and the empty look in Ranma's eyes. He also noticed the fading lines of tear streaks.
'He looks like he just lost something important.' Tofu said trying to analyze the situation so he could handle it with the most efficiency.
"Are you feeling ok?" Tofu asked gently.
Ranma looked up and faster then Tofu could blink his face completely changed, a cheery mask placed over the depression.
"I'm fine doc. Nothing's wrong with me. Seems like Akane's doing better too!" Ranma said almost too cheerfully.
"I see. Ranma, if there's anything you feel like you want to get off your chest you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, completely confidential. I just want to be there for you," Tofu said, trying to get something out of Ranma.
". Thanks. maybe. maybe later." Ranma said sincerely.
Ranma got up out of his seat then walked into the bathroom and washed his face quickly, finally getting rid of the tear streaks. He came out and walked downstairs, only to find Akane trying to cook something. Ranma froze. When Akane noticed Ranma she waved at him.
"Come down for breakfast Ranma! I'm making something to give my thanks to Dr. Tofu," Akane said happily, a sudden change from before.
"Err. su-re." Ranma said slowly.
"Oh? What's this? Akane, you shouldn't have," Dr. Tofu said as he met up with everyone else in the kitchen.
"Most definitely shouldn't have." Ranma muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Akane said glaring at Ranma now.
'Shit, she's still pissed about me blowing her off like that.' Ranma sighed.
"Um, just that I can't wait," Ranma said, extremely unconvincingly.
Akane turned around without another word and concentrated on her cooking. Ranma noticed that she was making a foreign dish with eggs and ham.
'Must be an omelet. she always liked omelets.' Ranma thought thoughtfully.
That was when Ranma noticed Akane grabbing the baking soda.
"Err, Akane. you should probably use the salt, not the baking soda." Ranma said weakly.
"What are you talking about? I know what I'm doing. Just go sit over there," Akane said without looking up.
'Still as stubborn as always. Let's see if I can word this right.'
"Are you sure? I'll get all the ingredients for you so you don't have to move around so much on that tender leg," Ranma said hopefully.
"Uh, ok, I guess." Akane said, not noticing Ranma huge sigh of relief.
Ranma quickly got together all the ingredients for an omelet and set them near Akane, then took anything that didn't belong far, far away. Ranma looked at Akane and was glad that she was using the right ingredients at least. He walked away and sat down on a chair. Tofu came down and sat next to him. Ranma leaned over and whispered in Tofu's ear.
"Don't eat too much, just enough to satisfy her. If you do, you'll end up with a stomach ache that'll last that will for a while." Ranma said to Tofu's questioning stares. "Trust me, you won't regret it."
Tofu just looked at Ranma, and then shrugged his shoulders. Moments later Akane came out of the kitchen carrying two plates with omelets on them.
'At least I hope they're omelets.' Ranma thought hopefully.
Tofu took a fork and looked over at Ranma one more time then dug in. Ranma watched Tofu, and when nothing immediate happened, Ranma slowly took a bite with his fork. He played with the omelet in his mouth as the flavor slowly sunk in. When Ranma didn't start to feel sick he slowly swallowed the omelet. Then Ranma sat still, contemplating. Akane just watched with anticipation in her eyes. Ranma looked over and gave her smile.
"That was good Akane."
"Really! Thanks!" Akane yelled.
Ranma slowly took another bite. Ranma watched as Tofu ate, much slower now though. Ranma decided that after five bites, he was finished and told everyone so. Tofu quickly followed saying he had to get to work soon. They both got up and started on their own ways leaving Akane to bask in her work. She took one bite and sat there. She slowly swallowed and picked up the two plates and sent the leftovers into the trash.
'Well. he did try it. and he did get up to five bites.' Akane thought silently, trying to keep her own frustration down.
Akane sat down on one of the chairs and sighed. It had been another failure, albeit a smaller one this time around. Akane sighed again. She got up and went in search of her belongings and started to pack them up.
*****
Ranma went straight out and breathed in large deep breaths of the fresh air, and then he quickly sought out a lot of water and drank it all in one gulp. He sat down and sighed. It hadn't been THAT bad. Ranma lay down and stared at the sky when he jumped up. He had school today. He raced back into the house and stared at the clock. There was still an hour before school started. Ranma sat back down. He saw Tofu take one large gulp of water and run off to tend to his first patients. Ranma laughed silently.
'I need to teach her how to cook again. This won't be any fun,' Ranma thought, thinking back to the first time he had helped Akane make a decent meal.
A small laugh escaped his mouth thinking back on it. He was staring off into space with a smile on his face when Akane looked right in his eyes.
"Ah!" Ranma yelled jumping back.
"Uh, didn't mean to startle you." Akane said, not really meaning it.
'Shit. she's still pissed.' Ranma thought.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm all set so I'll just be heading home now."
"Uh, wait for me to get my stuff," Ranma said quickly.
"Err. o.k." Akane said, slightly taken aback.
"Be back in a sec," Ranma yelled, running upstairs to get his stuff.
Akane just stood there and stared. Ranma had showed up from nowhere, and then just as suddenly, taken the spot in Akane's life that had always been empty. Akane held her hand to her heart. She had always felt so. so alone before, even among her friends and family. Then Ranma had come and suddenly the loneliness was gone. It hadn't even been a gradual fading. The feeling had just disappeared. Akane was scared. She didn't know what was happening and she didn't like to loose control, and that was what was happening. The thing was, whenever she had tried to just forget about Ranma and go on she had felt a wave of sadness flood over her. This was all happening in two days. Just two days since she had met Ranma in front of the school. She had already fallen asleep in his arms a couple times. Akane found a mirror and just stared at herself. A scared look was on her face, but she wasn't scared of Ranma, it was more the feelings she had and that was only because she didn't understand them. Akane looked down and sighed, a sad look covering her face, only to find herself face to face with Ranma, who was staring up at her.
"AH!" Akane yelled backing off.
Ranma just looked at her for a moment then turned around and headed out the door. Then, out of nowhere, threw a random one liner over his shoulder.
"You know, you should smile more often. You're really cute when you smile," Ranma said without even looking back.
Akane could feel herself blush and looked down.
'Why does he get to me like this? Why!?' Akane thought.
She slowly followed Ranma. The two of them headed to the Tendo dojo. As they walked Ranma sensed the distance between the two become greater and greater. Ranma tried to slow down a little but it seemed as if Akane just slowed down as well. Ranma sighed and looked forward. It was not going as he had hoped it would. Akane was just afraid of him now. Ranma sighed again then put a mask of cheerfulness on his face and turned around.
"Hey Akane, I forgot that I need to do something at school in the morning so I'm gonna go ahead, ok? I'll, uh, see ya later." Ranma said, and with that ran off towards the school.
Akane just looked at him and watched him when a truck drove by splashing water straight at Ranma.
"Ranma! Watch out!" Akane yelled out.
Ranma just watched, as the water seemed to cascade over his body in slow motion. The thought of raising his arms in defense went through his mind but was disregarded. He turned back and looked at Akane, a sad expression covering his face. Akane gasped as she saw the pain in the eyes. That was when the water hit. She couldn't see Ranma for a moment when a bright red color came through the water. Akane stared as she saw Ranma's body shrink. Then the water was on the ground. Akane just stared when her dream came back to her. She backed away then fell on the ground.
"No way. y-you're a girl?" Akane asked wide-eyed.
Ranma just looked at her with sad eyes. Akane noticed the same pain mirrored in the new girls eyes.
"No, I'm a boy. This." Ranma said pointing to himself, "is my curse."
Ranma took one look at Akane's face and turned around, walking back to Tofu's clinic when Akane yelled out.
"Wait! Don't go!" Akane blurted out.
'Why. why did I dream about this! What's going on!'
"Please, don't go. I-I want to know what's going on." Akane said in a now quiet voice.
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked obliviously, drowning in his own thoughts.
'She hates me now. I'll never be able to marry her. Damn this curse!'
"I-I. Who are you?!" Akane suddenly blurted, freeing Ranma from his despair.
"Huh?" Ranma asked surprised.
"I-I think we should skip school today. I'm not gonna learn anything anyways with everything that's going on. Um, can we talk somewhere alone?" Akane asked, surprising herself.
Ranma just stared at her dumbfounded. He nodded his head and followed Akane as she started to walk in another direction. Ranma quickly realized that they were heading to the park.
'What. what's she thinking?'
'What am I doing!? No, I need to know what's going on.' Akane thought, mentally preparing herself for whatever was going to happen.
They eventually arrived at the park when Ranma called out to Akane and motioned for her to follow him. Now it was Akane who was surprised as Ranma led them to her secret spot.
'H-how did he know about this place. He's only been here for a few days.' Akane thought, trying to organize the multitude of thoughts bouncing around in her head.
Ranma sat down first and waited for Akane to follow. When she did Ranma lowered his head and sighed. Akane noticed the lines of stress all over Ranma's face.
"Ok. where do you want me to start, Akane?" Ranma asked never looking up.
"Who are you?" Akane asked again.
Ranma looked up finally. When his eyes met up with Akane's eyes he stated talking.
"I really am Ranma Saotome. I am also definitely a male, but I'll get into that later. I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Ranma started when Akane interrupted him.
"That's impossible. Our families the only practitioner's of that style," Akane stated.
"No, my father also practiced that style. My father and your father trained under a man by the name of Happosai, the grand master of Anything Goes Martial Arts, but that's beside the point. My claim is valid, whether you believe me or not," Ranma stated firmly.
Akane nodded and motioned for Ranma to continue.
"I guess you want to know about my curse." Ranma said, then continued when he saw Akane's head nod again.
"I was on a training trip in China with my father when we arrived at a place called Jusenkyo. At Jusenkyo are a whole bunch of magical pools that will transform anything that falls into it. The curse isn't permanent mind you. It is activated by cold water and reversed by ho-" Ranma started when Akane finished for him.
"Hot water."
Ranma stopped talking instantly and just stared at Akane. Akane looked up at Ranma with uncertain eyes.
"H-how did you know that." Ranma asked, figuring that she had just guessed.
"I-I don't know. I had a dream about you though." Akane started blushing.
Ranma just stared at her.
"You were at my house for some reason. and you were fighting with someone, I couldn't tell. Well, you managed to get a good hit in and sent your opponent into our koi pond. Well, instead of a man jumping back out, it was a-" Akane started when this time Ranma interrupted.
"A panda." Ranma said with wide eyes.
Akane looked straight into Ranma's eyes. She had stated the last part hoping to lighten the mood. Instead she was even more confused then ever.
"It was a panda wasn't it!" Ranma said loudly.
"Yea it was." Akane said shrinking into herself.
Ranma sat back, new thoughts rushing into his mind.
'Why the hell would she even dream about something like that?'
"Who was the panda then?" Akane asked quietly.
"That. that would be my father. He was also cursed at Jusenkyo with me." Ranma said without much emotion, his thoughts elsewhere.
"I didn't tell you the rest of my dream." Akane said.
Ranma raised his eyebrow at this.
"It ended with you splashing into the water. When you came out you looked exactly like you do now." Akane whispered
"Then. then maybe you know more." Ranma whispered to himself.
"Have you had any other dreams? You know, concerning me?" Ranma blurted out without even thinking about what he had said.
Akane immediately blushed bright red. Ranma clamped his mouth shut as soon as he heard what he had just said.
"Well. actually I've a had a few. but only one other time." Akane said, almost too quietly for Ranma to hear.
"W-what happened?" Ranma asked trying hard not to seem to eager yet miserably failing.
"Well. we were um. up on the roof of my house. You were lying down and I was. resting my head on you. and. the sun was setting. and. um." Akane stuttered blushing brightly.
"And I told you I loved you, didn't I," Ranma said with a look of love in his eye.
Akane looked into his eyes finally and stared at the emotion displayed on Ranma's face.
"How did you know that." Akane asked not really paying attention to what she was saying.
"Because that really happened."
That snapped Akane out of her trance.
"What are you talking about?!" Akane yelled.
That was when something snapped inside of Akane's mind. A tidal wave of memories and thoughts rushed into her mind. Akane just sat there as everything came back to her. She almost collapsed onto the ground when Ranma caught her. Ranma looked at her worriedly when she looked up into Ranma's eyes. A small tear cascaded down her cheek.
"You returned to me. you finally returned to me," Akane whispered, tears in her eyes.
Ranma just hugged her tightly.
"I love you, Akane Tendo."
"I love you too, Ranma Saotome."
*****
Off in another plane of existence two Kami's, wearing large cloaks covering their faces, from before watched over Ranma and Akane.
"Man, I owe you. I could never preserve memories like you could," the first Kami said.
"Not a problem, but you do know that we can't get directly involved anymore. It's a shame I couldn't preserve any others. all we can do now is watch," the second Kami answered.
"Yeah. I know. I hope Ranma can get rid of the curse on his body. Thank the Amazons for giving us a chance to intervene when we did. If not it might have been too late for Ranma to get rid of the curse," the first Kami stated.
"Yeah, well it's just the two of us on this end. Ranma will get help. I might not of been able to preserve anyone else's memories but everyone with a strong tie to Ranma should make their way to him somehow. The threads of fate tie them together. Well. except Genma and Nodoka." the second Kami said sadly.
"Yeah. damn. there are too many variables. well, I hope Ranma can figure out what's happening to him soon. Ranma's been borrowing so much power from the curse that he's almost relying on it instead of using his own powers. I had always hoped that Ranma would use his own power but instead he's just relied on the curse leaving his own powers hidden and suppressed. Damn the curse.." the first Kami yelled angrily.
"There's nothing we can do about that right now. What's done is done. Forget about that. All we can do now is hope that Ranma isn't erased," the second Kami said firmly.
"Yeah. yea, you're right," the first Kami said with resignation.
The two got up and chanted a quick spell, and then they both vanished into the void.
Author's Notes: Akane's remembered her past life and everything seems to be going well for Ranma, right? What's this talk about a curse? Is it the curse of Jusenkyo? Nope. but. my lips are sealed! I guess you'll just have to wait to see what's going on. Maybe I'll even explain what the heck everyone's talking bout. or maybe not.
Ranma opened the door quietly. Akane had already fallen asleep. He quietly set her down on his bed and covered her up with the blankets. He sat down in his chair and picked up the book he had been reading. It was a part of a collection of books on shiatsu techniques. Many of them proved to be extremely useful and Ranma could already see where they could be used, both in help and in combat. Ranma looked up from the book and looked at Akane's face. He thought back to the many times he had done this before, just sitting down next to Akane and watching her sleep. Ranma smiled. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
It was his first chance to really think about what had all happened to him in the past few days. He wondered what everyone else was doing. Ryoga was probably lost somewhere. Ranma smiled at that thought. Ukyo was probably living a much happier life without him in it. His smiled weakened at the thought of losing his best friend. She really was important to him, just not to the extent that Akane was. Then there were the Amazons. They had caused the majority of his problems in the past and this one was no different, except this time Ranma couldn't do anything about it. They had flipped his world upside down leaving him stranded in the past in a world unknown to the one he had been living in.
He had no family anymore either. That thought brought Ranma to a halt. He slumped forward and looked down. Tears breached the edges of his eye but he did nothing to stop them as they slowly slipped down his face. Each drop fell slowly splashing away into nothing as they hit the ground. Ranma thought back to the moment he had made peace with his mother finally. They had gone off, just the two of them, and had one of the best days Ranma could remember. They had gone out to eat and just caught up on each other's lives. Ranma remembered the feeling of joy he had had just being with his mom. Then there was the old man. Ranma shook his head. His father. He had taught Ranma everything he had known making him what he was today. Ranma curled his hand into a fist and placed it at his heart, tears still falling. Ranma resolved to visit his parent's graves as soon as he could.
That was when he heard Akane whisper in her sleep. Ranma smiled silently. Had he heard what she had been whispering about, Ranma probably would have been much more interested.
*****
Akane had fallen asleep in Ranma's arms again. Whenever she had been near him she had felt such a feeling of comfort that she had just curled up to his chest and fallen asleep. She couldn't even explain what was going on in her. It was as soon as she had fallen asleep that she had found herself back at her house. She looked around curiously wondering why she was here when she realized something.
'Must be a dream,' Akane thought in her semi-conscious state.
She walked around when she heard a lot of noise from outside her house. She rushed out only to find two blurs charging at each other. She watched in fascination as she slowly realized the form of the two blurs.
'A panda? Well, at least I know it's a dream.' Akane thought when she saw the other fighter, or at least part of.
She noticed the bright red shirt and the dark black pants, then the ponytail whipping around the head as the body turned, avoiding a kick.
'That can't be.' Akane thought when the fighting abruptly stopped as a sweet voice from inside called out to them.
"Time for breakfast!" Kasumi called out.
Akane stared as she focused in on the person, or rather the boy. Akane gasped. It was Ranma.
'What the hell! Why am I dreaming about him again!' Akane yelled at herself.
That was when the Panda jumped out of the koi pond it had fallen into splashing water all over Ranma. Akane's eyes widened when Ranma started to change. The hair was the fist thing she noticed, a vibrant red color, then, the body shape. Ranma had shrunk and grown. breasts? Akane stared hard as she realized Ranma had suddenly changed into a girl. The last thought that crossed her mind before she bolted awake was something Akane didn't understand.
'Hot water.'
Akane shot up in a daze. She looked around as her vision cleared. That was when she noticed the beginnings of sunlight coming in through the shades. It took her mere seconds more to locate Ranma, who had fallen asleep in his chair. She got out of the bed and approached him to cover him with the blanket when she noticed the marks on Ranma's face. There were streaks on Ranma's face, indicating a stream of tears.
'He. he cried himself to sleep?' Akane thought.
A sharp pain entered her heart as she silently thought of what could possibly make him cry. That was of course when Ranma decided it was a good time to wake up himself. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself gazing straight into Akane's.
"Kawaii." Ranma muttered under his breath.
Akane blushed brightly but didn't move. She wasn't sure why but the look Ranma had given her had frozen her solid. It was a look that Akane couldn't really identify. That was of course when Ranma panicked and shot back.
"Ah! Oh, uh. Akane, how you feeling?" Ranma said, trying to recover from the awkward moment.
Akane, broken from her frozen state, blinked, then shot up and stuttered to Ranma.
"Um, I just got up and was just checking on you."
'God, that sounded stupid! Baka!' Akane yelled at herself.
Ranma just stared at her when he noticed a chill on his face. He slowly felt his face when he noticed the traces of his tears. He quickly wiped his face and put up a smile.
"I'm fine! Really I am." Ranma said quickly.
"Fine! You don't have to tell me." Akane said trying to sound angry only to find her voice taking on a tone of sadness.
'What the hell. why am I falling apart just cause he won't tell me something. what's wrong with me?'
Akane just turned around and walked out the door. Ranma just sat down and stared at the ground.
"You wouldn't understand. you couldn't understand." Ranma whispered sadly.
*****
Akane walked downstairs with a slight limp. The pain was mostly gone but she wanted to make sure that it healed completely before applying any pressure to the sprain. She passed Dr. Tofu, who said hi, without even acknowledging his presence. Dr. Tofu looked at her, and then shrugged his shoulders.
'Wonder what's wrong with her.' he thought.
Dr. Tofu walked into Ranma's room to see if Ranma knew what was wrong only to find himself looking at one of the most depressing expressions he had seen in a long time. Dr. Tofu looked closer at Ranma's face noting the lines of stress and the empty look in Ranma's eyes. He also noticed the fading lines of tear streaks.
'He looks like he just lost something important.' Tofu said trying to analyze the situation so he could handle it with the most efficiency.
"Are you feeling ok?" Tofu asked gently.
Ranma looked up and faster then Tofu could blink his face completely changed, a cheery mask placed over the depression.
"I'm fine doc. Nothing's wrong with me. Seems like Akane's doing better too!" Ranma said almost too cheerfully.
"I see. Ranma, if there's anything you feel like you want to get off your chest you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, completely confidential. I just want to be there for you," Tofu said, trying to get something out of Ranma.
". Thanks. maybe. maybe later." Ranma said sincerely.
Ranma got up out of his seat then walked into the bathroom and washed his face quickly, finally getting rid of the tear streaks. He came out and walked downstairs, only to find Akane trying to cook something. Ranma froze. When Akane noticed Ranma she waved at him.
"Come down for breakfast Ranma! I'm making something to give my thanks to Dr. Tofu," Akane said happily, a sudden change from before.
"Err. su-re." Ranma said slowly.
"Oh? What's this? Akane, you shouldn't have," Dr. Tofu said as he met up with everyone else in the kitchen.
"Most definitely shouldn't have." Ranma muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Akane said glaring at Ranma now.
'Shit, she's still pissed about me blowing her off like that.' Ranma sighed.
"Um, just that I can't wait," Ranma said, extremely unconvincingly.
Akane turned around without another word and concentrated on her cooking. Ranma noticed that she was making a foreign dish with eggs and ham.
'Must be an omelet. she always liked omelets.' Ranma thought thoughtfully.
That was when Ranma noticed Akane grabbing the baking soda.
"Err, Akane. you should probably use the salt, not the baking soda." Ranma said weakly.
"What are you talking about? I know what I'm doing. Just go sit over there," Akane said without looking up.
'Still as stubborn as always. Let's see if I can word this right.'
"Are you sure? I'll get all the ingredients for you so you don't have to move around so much on that tender leg," Ranma said hopefully.
"Uh, ok, I guess." Akane said, not noticing Ranma huge sigh of relief.
Ranma quickly got together all the ingredients for an omelet and set them near Akane, then took anything that didn't belong far, far away. Ranma looked at Akane and was glad that she was using the right ingredients at least. He walked away and sat down on a chair. Tofu came down and sat next to him. Ranma leaned over and whispered in Tofu's ear.
"Don't eat too much, just enough to satisfy her. If you do, you'll end up with a stomach ache that'll last that will for a while." Ranma said to Tofu's questioning stares. "Trust me, you won't regret it."
Tofu just looked at Ranma, and then shrugged his shoulders. Moments later Akane came out of the kitchen carrying two plates with omelets on them.
'At least I hope they're omelets.' Ranma thought hopefully.
Tofu took a fork and looked over at Ranma one more time then dug in. Ranma watched Tofu, and when nothing immediate happened, Ranma slowly took a bite with his fork. He played with the omelet in his mouth as the flavor slowly sunk in. When Ranma didn't start to feel sick he slowly swallowed the omelet. Then Ranma sat still, contemplating. Akane just watched with anticipation in her eyes. Ranma looked over and gave her smile.
"That was good Akane."
"Really! Thanks!" Akane yelled.
Ranma slowly took another bite. Ranma watched as Tofu ate, much slower now though. Ranma decided that after five bites, he was finished and told everyone so. Tofu quickly followed saying he had to get to work soon. They both got up and started on their own ways leaving Akane to bask in her work. She took one bite and sat there. She slowly swallowed and picked up the two plates and sent the leftovers into the trash.
'Well. he did try it. and he did get up to five bites.' Akane thought silently, trying to keep her own frustration down.
Akane sat down on one of the chairs and sighed. It had been another failure, albeit a smaller one this time around. Akane sighed again. She got up and went in search of her belongings and started to pack them up.
*****
Ranma went straight out and breathed in large deep breaths of the fresh air, and then he quickly sought out a lot of water and drank it all in one gulp. He sat down and sighed. It hadn't been THAT bad. Ranma lay down and stared at the sky when he jumped up. He had school today. He raced back into the house and stared at the clock. There was still an hour before school started. Ranma sat back down. He saw Tofu take one large gulp of water and run off to tend to his first patients. Ranma laughed silently.
'I need to teach her how to cook again. This won't be any fun,' Ranma thought, thinking back to the first time he had helped Akane make a decent meal.
A small laugh escaped his mouth thinking back on it. He was staring off into space with a smile on his face when Akane looked right in his eyes.
"Ah!" Ranma yelled jumping back.
"Uh, didn't mean to startle you." Akane said, not really meaning it.
'Shit. she's still pissed.' Ranma thought.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm all set so I'll just be heading home now."
"Uh, wait for me to get my stuff," Ranma said quickly.
"Err. o.k." Akane said, slightly taken aback.
"Be back in a sec," Ranma yelled, running upstairs to get his stuff.
Akane just stood there and stared. Ranma had showed up from nowhere, and then just as suddenly, taken the spot in Akane's life that had always been empty. Akane held her hand to her heart. She had always felt so. so alone before, even among her friends and family. Then Ranma had come and suddenly the loneliness was gone. It hadn't even been a gradual fading. The feeling had just disappeared. Akane was scared. She didn't know what was happening and she didn't like to loose control, and that was what was happening. The thing was, whenever she had tried to just forget about Ranma and go on she had felt a wave of sadness flood over her. This was all happening in two days. Just two days since she had met Ranma in front of the school. She had already fallen asleep in his arms a couple times. Akane found a mirror and just stared at herself. A scared look was on her face, but she wasn't scared of Ranma, it was more the feelings she had and that was only because she didn't understand them. Akane looked down and sighed, a sad look covering her face, only to find herself face to face with Ranma, who was staring up at her.
"AH!" Akane yelled backing off.
Ranma just looked at her for a moment then turned around and headed out the door. Then, out of nowhere, threw a random one liner over his shoulder.
"You know, you should smile more often. You're really cute when you smile," Ranma said without even looking back.
Akane could feel herself blush and looked down.
'Why does he get to me like this? Why!?' Akane thought.
She slowly followed Ranma. The two of them headed to the Tendo dojo. As they walked Ranma sensed the distance between the two become greater and greater. Ranma tried to slow down a little but it seemed as if Akane just slowed down as well. Ranma sighed and looked forward. It was not going as he had hoped it would. Akane was just afraid of him now. Ranma sighed again then put a mask of cheerfulness on his face and turned around.
"Hey Akane, I forgot that I need to do something at school in the morning so I'm gonna go ahead, ok? I'll, uh, see ya later." Ranma said, and with that ran off towards the school.
Akane just looked at him and watched him when a truck drove by splashing water straight at Ranma.
"Ranma! Watch out!" Akane yelled out.
Ranma just watched, as the water seemed to cascade over his body in slow motion. The thought of raising his arms in defense went through his mind but was disregarded. He turned back and looked at Akane, a sad expression covering his face. Akane gasped as she saw the pain in the eyes. That was when the water hit. She couldn't see Ranma for a moment when a bright red color came through the water. Akane stared as she saw Ranma's body shrink. Then the water was on the ground. Akane just stared when her dream came back to her. She backed away then fell on the ground.
"No way. y-you're a girl?" Akane asked wide-eyed.
Ranma just looked at her with sad eyes. Akane noticed the same pain mirrored in the new girls eyes.
"No, I'm a boy. This." Ranma said pointing to himself, "is my curse."
Ranma took one look at Akane's face and turned around, walking back to Tofu's clinic when Akane yelled out.
"Wait! Don't go!" Akane blurted out.
'Why. why did I dream about this! What's going on!'
"Please, don't go. I-I want to know what's going on." Akane said in a now quiet voice.
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked obliviously, drowning in his own thoughts.
'She hates me now. I'll never be able to marry her. Damn this curse!'
"I-I. Who are you?!" Akane suddenly blurted, freeing Ranma from his despair.
"Huh?" Ranma asked surprised.
"I-I think we should skip school today. I'm not gonna learn anything anyways with everything that's going on. Um, can we talk somewhere alone?" Akane asked, surprising herself.
Ranma just stared at her dumbfounded. He nodded his head and followed Akane as she started to walk in another direction. Ranma quickly realized that they were heading to the park.
'What. what's she thinking?'
'What am I doing!? No, I need to know what's going on.' Akane thought, mentally preparing herself for whatever was going to happen.
They eventually arrived at the park when Ranma called out to Akane and motioned for her to follow him. Now it was Akane who was surprised as Ranma led them to her secret spot.
'H-how did he know about this place. He's only been here for a few days.' Akane thought, trying to organize the multitude of thoughts bouncing around in her head.
Ranma sat down first and waited for Akane to follow. When she did Ranma lowered his head and sighed. Akane noticed the lines of stress all over Ranma's face.
"Ok. where do you want me to start, Akane?" Ranma asked never looking up.
"Who are you?" Akane asked again.
Ranma looked up finally. When his eyes met up with Akane's eyes he stated talking.
"I really am Ranma Saotome. I am also definitely a male, but I'll get into that later. I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," Ranma started when Akane interrupted him.
"That's impossible. Our families the only practitioner's of that style," Akane stated.
"No, my father also practiced that style. My father and your father trained under a man by the name of Happosai, the grand master of Anything Goes Martial Arts, but that's beside the point. My claim is valid, whether you believe me or not," Ranma stated firmly.
Akane nodded and motioned for Ranma to continue.
"I guess you want to know about my curse." Ranma said, then continued when he saw Akane's head nod again.
"I was on a training trip in China with my father when we arrived at a place called Jusenkyo. At Jusenkyo are a whole bunch of magical pools that will transform anything that falls into it. The curse isn't permanent mind you. It is activated by cold water and reversed by ho-" Ranma started when Akane finished for him.
"Hot water."
Ranma stopped talking instantly and just stared at Akane. Akane looked up at Ranma with uncertain eyes.
"H-how did you know that." Ranma asked, figuring that she had just guessed.
"I-I don't know. I had a dream about you though." Akane started blushing.
Ranma just stared at her.
"You were at my house for some reason. and you were fighting with someone, I couldn't tell. Well, you managed to get a good hit in and sent your opponent into our koi pond. Well, instead of a man jumping back out, it was a-" Akane started when this time Ranma interrupted.
"A panda." Ranma said with wide eyes.
Akane looked straight into Ranma's eyes. She had stated the last part hoping to lighten the mood. Instead she was even more confused then ever.
"It was a panda wasn't it!" Ranma said loudly.
"Yea it was." Akane said shrinking into herself.
Ranma sat back, new thoughts rushing into his mind.
'Why the hell would she even dream about something like that?'
"Who was the panda then?" Akane asked quietly.
"That. that would be my father. He was also cursed at Jusenkyo with me." Ranma said without much emotion, his thoughts elsewhere.
"I didn't tell you the rest of my dream." Akane said.
Ranma raised his eyebrow at this.
"It ended with you splashing into the water. When you came out you looked exactly like you do now." Akane whispered
"Then. then maybe you know more." Ranma whispered to himself.
"Have you had any other dreams? You know, concerning me?" Ranma blurted out without even thinking about what he had said.
Akane immediately blushed bright red. Ranma clamped his mouth shut as soon as he heard what he had just said.
"Well. actually I've a had a few. but only one other time." Akane said, almost too quietly for Ranma to hear.
"W-what happened?" Ranma asked trying hard not to seem to eager yet miserably failing.
"Well. we were um. up on the roof of my house. You were lying down and I was. resting my head on you. and. the sun was setting. and. um." Akane stuttered blushing brightly.
"And I told you I loved you, didn't I," Ranma said with a look of love in his eye.
Akane looked into his eyes finally and stared at the emotion displayed on Ranma's face.
"How did you know that." Akane asked not really paying attention to what she was saying.
"Because that really happened."
That snapped Akane out of her trance.
"What are you talking about?!" Akane yelled.
That was when something snapped inside of Akane's mind. A tidal wave of memories and thoughts rushed into her mind. Akane just sat there as everything came back to her. She almost collapsed onto the ground when Ranma caught her. Ranma looked at her worriedly when she looked up into Ranma's eyes. A small tear cascaded down her cheek.
"You returned to me. you finally returned to me," Akane whispered, tears in her eyes.
Ranma just hugged her tightly.
"I love you, Akane Tendo."
"I love you too, Ranma Saotome."
*****
Off in another plane of existence two Kami's, wearing large cloaks covering their faces, from before watched over Ranma and Akane.
"Man, I owe you. I could never preserve memories like you could," the first Kami said.
"Not a problem, but you do know that we can't get directly involved anymore. It's a shame I couldn't preserve any others. all we can do now is watch," the second Kami answered.
"Yeah. I know. I hope Ranma can get rid of the curse on his body. Thank the Amazons for giving us a chance to intervene when we did. If not it might have been too late for Ranma to get rid of the curse," the first Kami stated.
"Yeah, well it's just the two of us on this end. Ranma will get help. I might not of been able to preserve anyone else's memories but everyone with a strong tie to Ranma should make their way to him somehow. The threads of fate tie them together. Well. except Genma and Nodoka." the second Kami said sadly.
"Yeah. damn. there are too many variables. well, I hope Ranma can figure out what's happening to him soon. Ranma's been borrowing so much power from the curse that he's almost relying on it instead of using his own powers. I had always hoped that Ranma would use his own power but instead he's just relied on the curse leaving his own powers hidden and suppressed. Damn the curse.." the first Kami yelled angrily.
"There's nothing we can do about that right now. What's done is done. Forget about that. All we can do now is hope that Ranma isn't erased," the second Kami said firmly.
"Yeah. yea, you're right," the first Kami said with resignation.
The two got up and chanted a quick spell, and then they both vanished into the void.
Author's Notes: Akane's remembered her past life and everything seems to be going well for Ranma, right? What's this talk about a curse? Is it the curse of Jusenkyo? Nope. but. my lips are sealed! I guess you'll just have to wait to see what's going on. Maybe I'll even explain what the heck everyone's talking bout. or maybe not.