Legacy

Part III

By Kalio

~*~

Ranma peeked into Akane's window, cautiously lowering himself, suspended from the roof. He didn't want to seem like he cared, especially after his earlier argument with her. Seeing that she was asleep, he pressed his nose and hands to the window. He sighed seeing her laying peacefully flat. He watched for a few moments before noticing the slight twitching of her lips. 'Huh?'

He opened the window carefully and snuck in, leaning over her sleeping form, his ear slanted toward her lips, holding his pigtail away from her. At first he couldn't hear anything, then: '...not live?'

Ranma stared wide-eyed at her. 'What?!' he mouthed to himself. He leaned over her again, and listened to the one-sided conversation.

'But what about-?...th-they don't matter. And about my family? And...No. I CANNOT accept that! I won't sit by and watch... It is up to me...' She fell silent for a few moments, then 'You're right. I must accept the responsibility if its the only way... he WHAT?!'

***

Ryoga shot up from a dead sleep, breathing heavily. 'What the hell was that?' He rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes. His dream showed a desolate landscape. Temperamental in climate, it had high, purple mountains in the distance, with the promise of greenery around its steep slope. Although he was lost again, and he had never seen such an image in his entire life, it somehow seemed irrationally familiar.

***

Cologne closed her ancient eyes. It was as she feared, only worse. Not only had the third prophecy occurred, but it did not come to Shampoo, a worthy Amazon warrior, but Akane, a girl vastly unprepared for any battle of the sort. She wasn't sure how Akane could be the chosen one, if any one else, she had thought it would be Ranma's girl form.

She lit a calming incense and blew out the flame. The news of Akane's dream had not come as a shock, rather, the new that it was Akane was surprising. The legend was specific and vague at the same time, but it was very clear that the chosen girl would have incredible strength of both body and mind. The implications of Akane's future that it brought were disturbing to Cologne. One thing she was sure of, however, Akane was in sore need of preparation.

***

Akane stared into the dark mist. '...not live?'

'Child, you must understand, the fate of your world depends on your sacrifices.'

'But what about-?'

'Your hopes? Your dreams? They do not matter in the grand scheme of things. They make you who you are, but now they will interfere with your ability to give your all.' Akane frowned.

'And about my family? And-?'

'And Ranma? Other loved ones? They would survive if you succeed. They will live on without you. Either you succeed, or they will all die.'

'No. I CANNOT accept that! I won't sit by and watch-'

If the voice had a face, it would have been grinning. 'No, you cannot.' It turned serious once more. 'You will succeed when you decide that their lives are worth saving. Their lives are up to you.'

'...It is up to me...' Akane pondered for as many moments. 'You're right, I must accept the responsibility if its the only way.'

'Good. Now, child, go spend time with your loved ones. In fact, now would be a great time to wake up. Ranma is leaning over you as we speak.'

'He WHAT?!' Akane shot up, knocking heads with the said boy. 'Oww...' She rubbed her forehead. 'What the hell are you doing leaning over me when I'm sleeping?!'

Ranma frowned nervously. 'You were, uh, talking in your sleep.'

'Hey! How long have you been listening?'

'Relax, its not like I'm eavesdropping...'

A vain popped in Akane's forehead. 'That's exactly what you were doing, you sicko!'

'Don't jump to conclusions! I was just making sure you didn't kill yourself in your sleep.'

'AHA! So you do care!'

Ranma's scowl eventually turned tender. 'Com'on, Akane, have you seen your eye?' He raised his hand and almost touched, but didn't quite, her eye's black ring.

'Yeah, I've seen it. So? What of it?'

'Its just not... I can't let someone... I won't let you get hurt if I can help it.'

'I'm fine.'

'No, you're not. You're getting really beat up. I believe you that no one did it to you, but I'm not going to let it happen again, okay?'

'Ranma, you can't watch me every time I sleep. You need to sleep, too. Not even mentioning the creepy thought of being watched while I'm asleep. Just lay off, okay?'

Ranma frowned. 'Is it such a crime wanting to protect my fiancée from harm? Is that so wrong? I mean, it may have been a one time thing, but what if its not? You had that weird dream and all. What if it means something?'

'I'm glad you care, really, I do, but I'm okay. I can take a few bruises. If nothing else, it makes me stronger.'

He gave her a pained look. 'Fine. Just be careful, okay?'

***

Shampoo shivered as she sat on the rooftop. Earlier, she had gone to visit Ranma for a date, but having seen him carrying her to the doctor with many bruises all over her, and instead visited Nabiki for expensive information. After reporting to her great-grandmother, and receiving the bad news, she couldn't help but be frightened.

She didn't know much of the legend, herself, but what she did know was that her fate, as well as the fate of the billions of others in the world was in Akane's hands, and she did not yet know. Though Shampoo was glad that it was not her destiny to save the world, the legend mentioned something else, that she envied...

The chosen's love would stand and fight by her side until the end, no matter the outcome. Unease sank into Shampoo's stomach... Who else could it be? The lost boy, but somehow she knew it couldn't be him. She lifted her face to the stars, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. It was already starting, and she knew that it would not end with a stubborn trip to Dr. Tofu.

Deep down, she had always known, but she didn't think that she would ever have to face his decision...

***

Ukyo hummed quietly to herself as she wiped the counter. Spring break was an excellent time to sell Okonomiyaki, especially since she could tend the counter all day. She turned her head as she hear the bell to the back of her door. Her face lit up. 'Ranma-honey! What can I get for you?'

A weak smile was all he gave her. 'The usual, Ucchan.'

'What's up Darlin'? You look pretty down. Another fight?'

'Nah. Well... sort of.'

'Ryoga?'

'Nope, Akane, again.'

'What did she do this time?'

Ranma frowned. He did not realize just how often he came to Ukyo with his and Akane's problems and let Akane take the majority of the blame. Perhaps it explained some of Ukyo's dislike for the girl in issues involving him.

'She didn't do anything. She had this really weird dream last night, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, she was whimpering in her sleep, and had all these awful bruises on her arms. Then, in the morning, she had a black eye, bruised rib, you name it! She swears she has no idea what happened, but she's not telling me something, I can tell. I'm really worried about it, and we fought over it.'

Despite Ukyo's reservations of feeling sympathy for her rival, she was shocked. Pushing aside anger that Ranma was so worried, she answered. 'Oh dear. What did you do?'

'Well, I took her to Dr. Tofu, and he said she'd be okay, but to watch over her for a while. So that's what I did and she got pissed off. Is it so wrong to care?'

'Ranchan, if she got upset over your concern, then its not your fault. Some people just don't appreciate kindness.' Ukyo batted her lashes, but he didn't notice. 'Look, its not like you were staring at her while she was napping, right?'

Ranma squirmed under scrutiny. 'Well...'

'You didn't!'

'I was just making sure she didn't hurt herself!'

'Ranchan!'

'Did you see her today?'

'Well, no, but-'

'Then you can't understand. You would have done the same thing for me.'

'But, Ranma-!'

'Cya later, Ucchan.' He got up and left the restaurant.

'-you know, I'd do anything for you and that I love you.' Ukyo spoke the last words to herself in the once-again empty restaurant.

***

A/n: Well, sorry for the long wait, guys. I have been trying to get this updated forever. Lots of things to deal with- school, college stuff, track, other things you don't want to know about. I have done mucho work on See You at the Show, but none of it is typed yet, so bear with me until I can get it up. I have not forgotten you guys, and especially my faithful readers. I gotta thank you especially, but I thank you all for reading and waiting. Again I feel the itching need to remind you that reviews are very helpful to me for many reasons, but also in motivating me to get writing during those long stretches of hard, busy times, as well as giving me ideas as to where you think the story is or should be heading. Also, if I make any really weird mistakes in flow, or there's something I didn't explain very well (that wasn't intentional). So for all these reasons, and many more, I invite you to review the story here, or email me at realakane@ragdollworks.zzn.com thanks.