Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma
Cure Lost, Love Found:
A Tale of Ranma
"Grow up Ranma!" Akane turned around and knocked the bowl full of ice water onto Ryoga. The water splashed right in Ryoga's lap. Ranma's eyes grew wide. Ryoga was going to change and Akane would be pissed. The only problem was…Ryoga wasn't changing.
Ryoga shot up after the ice water fell in his lap. He looked around the room until his gaze fell upon the other people in the room. There was the girl from before, who looked really sympathetic, and there was Ranma, who looked as though he's seen a ghost.
"Ranma Saotome, I'll kill…" He was cut off by the girl.
"Ryoga, I'm so sorry about the water. I-I'd help you dry off but…" Akane began to blush and then Ryoga realized where exactly the water had fallen and blushed too.
"I-I-It's ok, ma'am. I can handle it."
"Please Ryoga, call me Akane, like you used to." Ranma was practically getting sick, but he needed to know why Ryoga didn't change.
"Akane, why don't you leave the room and let Ryoga dry himself off. Maybe he wants to change out of those wet pants." Akane and Ryoga began to blush even more.
"Um…good idea Ranma. I'll be in the dining room if you need me." Akane left the room and Ranma started asking questions.
"Ok Mr. P, what is all this about. Why don't you know Akane and how come you didn't change into a pig?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Saotome, and you know perfectly well that my name is Hibiki, there is no P in it at all." Ranma face faulted.
"Ryoga, why aren't you a pig right now?"
"What is wrong with you Saotome? Why would I be a pig, I'm a human, aren't you?"
After a few more questions similar to the ones above, Ranma realized he wasn't getting anywhere so he decided to ask his questions a bit differently.
"So Ryoga, where did you come from, I mean where did you last stay the longest?"
"What is it any business of yours?"
"I was just wondering." Ryoga gave Ranma a skeptical glance but answered his question anyway.
"Well, I was in China most recently."
"China! Where in China!"
"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but there were a lot of these springs."
"Did you fall into one of them?"
"No! You'd have to be a real moron to go near those springs if you listen to the woman."
"Woman?"
"Yes, she didn't tell me her real name, but she told me to call her Su-Lin. She lives in a cave above the spring. She let me stay there for a few days. She told me about all the people that fell into the spring, and how she couldn't bare seeing all of them. So she made a cure. She has a million pots full of her own blend of 'Spring of drowned man' and 'Spring of drowned woman'. She gave me this map incase I knew anyone with the curse."
"Ryoga, you have to give me that map!"
"Why?"
"Because I need it!"
"Why? Are you cursed?"
"I might be! Now give me the map Ryoga!"
"What do you turn into!"
"A monster, so don't even try it!"
"I'll give you the map Ranma, but Su-Lin told me that I have to give you a warning before I give you this map."
"Yeah, fine, just tell me and get it over with." Ryoga handed Ranma the map and gave the warning.
"Su-Lin's cure does not come without a price. You have to give up something in return, much to her chagrin. If you have your curse lifted, you will only remember things prior to the curse. There is no way to recover your memories. You will be as you were before the curse. Are you willing to make the sacrifice?"
"Of course I…" just then Akane walked into the room with her eyes covered.
"Um…If you're done changing Ryoga, I'd like to put some disinfectant on your cheek." Ryoga put his hand up to his right cheek and noticed that it was scraped.
"Um, well I didn't get to change but come on in." Akane uncovered her eyes. Ryoga looked ok, it seems like there was anything wrong with him. Ranma on the other hand, looked as though he was going to throw up or cry or both.
Akane began applying the disinfectant to Ryoga's cheek. Normally she's be making small talk on Ryoga's travels, but she really didn't feel all that comfortable around him, and Ranma staring at her didn't help either. All of the sudden Ranma stood up, like he was in a trance.
"I have to go, I'll be back in a while."
"Ranma! Where are you going?" Ranma shook his head.
"I don't know, somewhere where I can think." Then Ranma left.
"I wonder what's wrong with him."
"He has a lot to think about. I found a cure to his curse and he doesn't know if he should go through with it or not."
"Well of course he should, if it works that is."
"It works too well."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, if he decides to go through with the cure, then he will forget everything that happened after the curse happened." For a second Akane stopped breathing.
"Oh." Ryoga decided that it was time for him to leave.
"Thank you for all of your help, Akane. I must be going now. Bye." Akane stood up too. She knew that Ryoga would never be able to find his way out of the house on his own.
"I have to go to the market anyway, I'll walk you out."
Akane and Ryoga had split up at the Tendo gates. He didn't tell Akane where he was going, she figured that he didn't even know, but he did say that he probably wouldn't be coming back. Akane could hardly stand it. She lost a really close friend and she was about to lose Ranma. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She had to make sure Ranma got cured, she had to talk him into it. She was sitting in the park. She realized that she was crying, but she couldn't help it and she didn't want to stop. She was going to lose Ranma
Ranma had left the Tendo home and started jumping rooftops. He really didn't know where he was going, but he knew that he needed to really think. Ironically, he ended up at the rooftop of Furinkan High School. He could see most of Nerima from up there. He saw The Nekohanten and was relieved that he wouldn't be able to remember all the stuff they did to him. The he looked over a few blocks and saw Ukyo's shop. Ranma knew that he would remember Ukyo, but he wouldn't remember her as she is now. He would remember Ukyo as the little boy he used to play with. He saw the Kuno compound, rolled his eyes and thought 'thank God'. Then he landed on the Tendo dojo. He looked at it for a good minute and a half.
Ranma began rationalizing. He figured that if he took his dad and they both got cured, then he would be taken to the dojo anyway. Then he could start over with Akane, but she would remember him and he wouldn't remember to be nice to her. Maybe he could talk to the family before he left and tell them that when he comes back they should act as they normally do. Ranma wanted to make this as easy as possible. He really wanted his cure, but he wanted his memories too. He looked over the edge and noticed someone passing by the front of the school. She was a girl with short, midnight blue hair. It took poor Ranma a few seconds to realize that the girl who just passed by the school was Akane.
Ranma jumped off the roof and followed Akane to the park. She was walking around aimlessly for a while and then she just sat down on the grass and began to cry. Ranma didn't know what to do. He thought that she was crying because of Ryoga, but he realized that it must have been something else. If she left her house to cry then it had to be something bigger then Ryoga. Ranma wanted to approach her, but he thought that she would get mad so he kept his distance. She was crying for a while, Ranma had lost track of the time. It was dark now and he figured the family would be worried. He didn't want Akane to be embarrassed that she was crying so Ranma decided to give her an out. He walked silently to the entrance of the park, which was a good 30 feet from Akane's current position.
Akane just realized that it was dark and that she was still in the park crying. She figured that her family would be worry and send Ranma out to get her soon enough. That is, if Ranma was even home yet.
"Hey Akane! You out here?" Akane wiped her tear stained face and turned towards the voice.
"Your dad is cryin' his eyes out. Where are ya'?" Akane began walking towards Ranma. She didn't want to talk because she knew that it would be a dead give away that she had been crying. She was walking rather slowly, she didn't feel really well. Then she saw Ranma and instead of crying, like she though she would, she feinted.
Ranma ran up and caught Akane before she hit the ground. He didn't expect her to feint. If anything Ranma thought that she would start crying some more.
"Hey Akane! Come on, wake up!" She wasn't waking up and Ranma didn't want to take her home like this, so he took her to the fountain in the middle of the park. He began splashing water on her face. After a few splashes she woke up and started coughing. Apparently, Ranma got more water up Akane's nose then he did anywhere else.
"You ~*cough*~ jerk! What did you do that for?"
"Well what was I supposed to do when you feinted?"
"Well you could have taken me home!"
"Yeah, our fathers and your sisters would have taken that well. I can just imagine it. I walk in the house with out cold in my arms. You dad would be crying, Kasumi would be worried, Nabiki would be taking pictures of us 'crossing the threshold', and my dad would be calling a priest."
"Still, you didn't have to splash water up my nose!"
"I wasn't aiming for your nose! I was just trying to splash your face."
"It doesn't matter. Let's go home." Akane got up and began walking home. Ranma followed. They walked from the park to the street in silence and then Akane started talking.
"Ryoga told me about the cure. That's what you were going to think about right?"
"Um, yeah."
"Well, I think you should do it, not that my opinion matters. It's just that, you've wanted this for so long Ranma, you deserve it." Tears were welling in Akane's eyes and her voice began to waver, but she wanted to make sure Ranma made the right decision.
"I think I am going to do it, but I really don't want to forget everyone."
"Well, you don't have to you know. Maybe you could write a note to yourself, Nabiki could take a few pictures with little messages on the back. We could even make a video and visit all the people you want to remember. We can tape you talking to them and just doing some normal stuff. You're going to end up back at the dojo anyway, we'll be waiting for you and when you get here, it'll be a whole lot better then last time. We'll be able to get off on a good start this time Ranma, it'll be nice."
"I like the video idea. But I don't agree with the rest. It just wouldn't be fair Akane. Everything will be new to me and you're going to be acting the way you think I want you to act, not the way you are. What fun would it be if we didn't tease each other? I don't think I would ever remember you if you acted like that."
"Why do you want to remember a stupid tomboy like me anyway?" Ranma hated it when Akane did this guilt trip stuff, mainly because it always worked
"Come on Akane. Why do you gotta say stuff like that?"
"Well, it's true isn't it? I'm just an uncute tomboy. I think you're better off not knowing me. So before you leave to get cured I'll tape you having a conversation with all of the people you want to remember. Then when you come back to the dojo, I'll make arrangements to leave that day and you can pick Kasumi or Nabiki as your fiancée, you wouldn't know the difference anyway."
"Firstly, do you remember how we became engaged in the first place? Your sisters gave up the position to you. If we do it again they'll be even more predisposed to do that and not to mention what your father will do. Secondly, it doesn't matter if you're an uncute tomboy or not, if I want to remember you then I will. And another thing, you don't even know how to use the camera so how do you expect to tape me?" Ranma was really proud of himself.
"For your information, Nabiki taught me how to use the camera and I've made so tapes of you sparing and sold them at school. And if you want to remember me then you can, but don't blame me for anything that you don't like." They were at the Tendo gates and they went inside.
That night Ranma told his father about the cure and Genma was packed and ready to go that minute. Then Ranma told his father that there were a few things that he wanted to remember and that they would leave in two days. Ranma had decided that He would start in the Tendo home. He would talk to Kasumi, Nabiki and then Mr. Tendo. After that he would go to his friends houses and talk to them and then he'd go to the Nekohanten for lunch and talk to Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne. Even though he didn't like them bothering him they were still worth remembering. After that he would head to Dr. Tofu's and then he would visit Ukyo. Ranma hoped that he would be able to run into Ryoga, but it wouldn't be the same if he couldn't get him with the P-Chan jokes. Either way, after Ukyo's Ranma decided that he would take Akane into the dojo and ask her to tape him doing some moves that he learned after he got cursed, such as the katsu tenshin amaguriken (chestnuts roasting on an open fire) and the Shi Shi Hokodan (Ryoga's depression attack) so he would be able to reacquire them easily. Then he would talk to Akane, one on one in the dojo. Ranma also decided to write a note to himself and hide it in his pack, somewhere at the bottom. That way when he would be able to remind himself of a few things that he might not have wanted to say on camera.
AN: Well, I only got one review for the first chapter, but I am determined to finish this fic because I really like it. So, I'm hoping more people will review in the coming chapters and if not, oh well. I have two endings mapped out for this fic as well, and I'm not telling you either of them. Based on what you guys say in your reviews is the ending I will go with, and who knows, maybe I'll post both endings just to see which one you guys like better. Either way, when you review please tell me a little bit of what you'd like to see next. Thanks for reading!