Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz and Kitty own Ranma.
Rating: Pg-13
A/N: I still haven't done my Jun story so I know Erie will kill me if I don't finish it as well tonight but you know what? No . . . maybe. Thanks to all the people who review me and my stories! Please, no flames. If you want to email me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!
* * *
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
-- Carl Jung
* * *
Akane opened her eyes one at a time and found them increasingly less heavy. She sat up and looked around. Everything was bright and light colored. The walls were white and the sheets she was in were the same fluorescent white. She thought to herself how white can seem fluorescent and stopped. Where was she? Where was Ranma? What happened?
She slowly recognized the things around her. She saw that on each side of the tightly tucked in bed she was in there were metal bars so she didn't roll off. She lie back down and slowly let her surroundings sink in. She decided to do this logically. She looked to the door and saw the dim light of a hallway. The lights in her room were so bright it took her a few moments to realize to stop looking at them. She turned to her left.
Flowers. From who? Ranma? Suru? Dad? Nabiki? Kasumi and Dr. Tofu? The table was a light cream color and it shined the way plastic did. She looked to the bed next to her, which was empty. She was alone. She looked to her right.
A picture of a flower. A daisy. They really liked flowers here didn't they? Akane looked to her sides and noticed something in her hand. It looked like the switches they had in movies to let off bombs. She threw it down afraid.
'Why am I being so afraid? Maybe I can go see someone.' It was so quiet. Akane needed to contact someone, but who? She couldn't remember who she needed to see. She still hadn't figured out where she was. She got up and slowly planted her bare feet on the floor. It was cool to the touch and Akane wanted to pull her feet up but couldn't. She was too close to finding out what was going on. She stood up and sat back down again. Everything started to swirl and Akane realized she was dizzy. Like when you get up too fast in the morning or when you sit up really sudden. The feeling was slowly disappearing and Akane tried again. Success!
Akane felt the weight of her upper body pulling on her tired legs. She tried to hold onto the bed with her left hand but it was in a cast. A few names were already on it but she didn't have time to read them all. She started to limp towards the door. It was too much to run but Akane pushed herself and quickly got used to a pattern of speed walking and then switching dominant legs. Akane was proud of how well she was doing. She tried to concentrate but her mind was wondering to other things. What was this place? Bright lights? Corridors outside the door she had just opened. People in white? Was she in heaven? She then noticed that she had been walking down a dimly lit hall dragging an IV with her. She had been grasping the metal pole as she walked and now touched the plastic bag attached to it with her broken arm. She was holding the pole with her right hand. Her left was broken. She was in a gown.
The shock of being in a hospital hit Akane fast. She was both relieved and confused. She wasn't dead but why was she here? She was looking for Genma when her and Ranma were driving down the road. He was saying sorry and then . . . Akane fell to the floor and three people in white suits came and escorted her to the nearest chair.
"Are you alright?" The first one asked.
The second one glared at the first one. "What do you mean is she alright? Look at her!"
"Sorry! I was just trying to help. This is that girl from the big crash today, right?" The first care aid looked at Akane with pity and the other knew exactly what was on the first one's mind.
"You can't tell her yet. Not yet. She's too unstable."
They helped a stunned Akane up as they talked. "She's been in here nearly thirty-six hours. We should tell her. She is in fine condition. Its just shock."
"We can't tell her. If I were just in an accident I wouldn't want to know that my boyfriend was-" The second care aid stopped herself and looked down to Akane. They had brought her back to her room and were taking her vitals. Akane heard this and went along with it, in silence. What about the girl's boyfriend?
"Am I . . . am I . . . that girl?" Akane weakly asked the surprised care aid. It nodded and the other settled her down into her bed.
"Come sit down, there'll be plenty of that later." The second care aid said calmly. The first started to cry and stopped when the other shot an unapproving glance towards the outburst of emotion the other had shown. Akane obeyed.
"Where's Ranma?" Akane asked softly. The others looked to each other and kept putting Akane back in her covers. Akane pushed them back and tried to spring up only to fall in her haste. Tears fell from her eyes and she felt the taste of salt on her bland tongue. She threw herself forward and managed to get out the door.
"WHERE IS HE?" This time the question and authority in Akane's voice was evident. The second care aid called for help as the first followed her cautiously. She ran down several halls and walked through a white and cream- colored door. She walked up to the care aid and looked to her face. The care aid nervously kept looking at a door a few feet away and as Akane followed her glare the care aid turned away and ran to get the others.
Akane ran into the room and saw it empty. She started for the light switch and noticed that this was the first sign of darkness she had come in contact with since she woke. She stepped into the room hating every second of it. Ranma was supposed to be here. Why wasn't he here? The light was out and it was utterly dark. Akane flicked on the light switch and shielded her eyes from the dark nature she knew would be in the room. It was worse. Nothing. The room was bare. Not a glimpse of life in the room. Ranma wasn't here. She ran to the bed and sifted through the covers for any sign of Ranma. He would have gotten flowers. Where were his flowers? She ran to the table where there were a bundle of roses and a card. Akane picked up the card afraid of what it might say. If it didn't say Ranma's name on it then that would mean that Ranma didn't need to go to the hospital. That he was fine. She turned to it.
To Ranma,
You lift our hearts and bring us joy-"
Akane could not read on. Ranma wasn't here. Maybe he had gotten better. She ran to the front of the room and was stopped by numerous guards. She heard soft voices as she felt a needle go into her arm. She felt the burst of the sedative. The last thing she heard was, '"How did she find his room? Does she know? Does she know?"' Akane screamed as she fell limply to the floor and the many people took her to her room.
* * *
Akane woke to her family crowding around her. She counted the heads. Five.
She noticed them become clearer and clearer as she awoke. Suru was twiddling his thumbs nervously and a nurse was trying to explain something to him. Akane was immediately alert. She was flirting with him. Poor gullible Suru hadn't noticed but she was flirting with him! She turned to look at the other events in the room. Nabiki and Dad were fighting about something. Kasumi and Dr. Tofu were arranging flowers at the far side of the room and whispering idly to each other.
"Is that six heads?" Akane didn't try to say this out loud but was too tired to talk inside her head. Everyone rushed to her side. Everything came at once and just like before everything went black.
* * *
They could have told her a million times, a million different ways but it wouldn't have made a difference. Ranma was dead and no matter how hard it was to break it to her every way they could say it meant the exact same thing. Ranma was dead. Gone. She couldn't tease or taunt him anymore. He couldn't tease her or taunt her. Everyway she thought of it came back to the outstanding thing.
Akane had never missed anything too important in her life. Not once had a subway train left right when she ran down the steps, never had Akane missed an important interview or anything like that. Today she realized that she had. Not just her, Ranma too. They had missed their chance. Every chance they had had to tell each other was gone now. They had always put it off and in its place needlessly bickered. She could no longer look at him and feel better. She could never think about the future they would have and would always dream of what could have been.
She was about to leave the hospital and yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't leave her room. It held her memories of him and she was afraid that if she were ever to leave then those memories of Ranma would evaporate like steam. She tried to walk out the door and was almost out the frame when she stopped herself. She had forgotten something and would have to go back for it. No. She had everything and needed to leave. She walked out the door and was relieved to remember Ranma as she walked through the halls. She waved to the people as she left. She needed to get out of here before something stopped her.
"Thanks for everything." Akane looked to the front desk and smiled to the people behind it. She smiled to them and ran past the front doors wiping tears from her eyes. The people waved and yelled their goodbyes as she ran.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the front door of said hospital a shadowed figured stared at the bold figure of a girl throwing her things to the dark gravel as she repeatedly dropped her keys. He saw her wipe numerous tears from her eyes as she got into her car.
The only sparkle from this dark corner was a trickle of light gleaming off of a tear from the shadowed figure's face.
"Please don't cry too hard ya clumsy tomboy! It'll take more than that to kill Ranma Saotome!"
A/N: There wasn't too much funny stuff in this chapter was there? I hope you like it and why do you think Ranma is pretending to be dead? What do you think of this chapter? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon!
Rating: Pg-13
A/N: I still haven't done my Jun story so I know Erie will kill me if I don't finish it as well tonight but you know what? No . . . maybe. Thanks to all the people who review me and my stories! Please, no flames. If you want to email me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!
* * *
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
-- Carl Jung
* * *
Akane opened her eyes one at a time and found them increasingly less heavy. She sat up and looked around. Everything was bright and light colored. The walls were white and the sheets she was in were the same fluorescent white. She thought to herself how white can seem fluorescent and stopped. Where was she? Where was Ranma? What happened?
She slowly recognized the things around her. She saw that on each side of the tightly tucked in bed she was in there were metal bars so she didn't roll off. She lie back down and slowly let her surroundings sink in. She decided to do this logically. She looked to the door and saw the dim light of a hallway. The lights in her room were so bright it took her a few moments to realize to stop looking at them. She turned to her left.
Flowers. From who? Ranma? Suru? Dad? Nabiki? Kasumi and Dr. Tofu? The table was a light cream color and it shined the way plastic did. She looked to the bed next to her, which was empty. She was alone. She looked to her right.
A picture of a flower. A daisy. They really liked flowers here didn't they? Akane looked to her sides and noticed something in her hand. It looked like the switches they had in movies to let off bombs. She threw it down afraid.
'Why am I being so afraid? Maybe I can go see someone.' It was so quiet. Akane needed to contact someone, but who? She couldn't remember who she needed to see. She still hadn't figured out where she was. She got up and slowly planted her bare feet on the floor. It was cool to the touch and Akane wanted to pull her feet up but couldn't. She was too close to finding out what was going on. She stood up and sat back down again. Everything started to swirl and Akane realized she was dizzy. Like when you get up too fast in the morning or when you sit up really sudden. The feeling was slowly disappearing and Akane tried again. Success!
Akane felt the weight of her upper body pulling on her tired legs. She tried to hold onto the bed with her left hand but it was in a cast. A few names were already on it but she didn't have time to read them all. She started to limp towards the door. It was too much to run but Akane pushed herself and quickly got used to a pattern of speed walking and then switching dominant legs. Akane was proud of how well she was doing. She tried to concentrate but her mind was wondering to other things. What was this place? Bright lights? Corridors outside the door she had just opened. People in white? Was she in heaven? She then noticed that she had been walking down a dimly lit hall dragging an IV with her. She had been grasping the metal pole as she walked and now touched the plastic bag attached to it with her broken arm. She was holding the pole with her right hand. Her left was broken. She was in a gown.
The shock of being in a hospital hit Akane fast. She was both relieved and confused. She wasn't dead but why was she here? She was looking for Genma when her and Ranma were driving down the road. He was saying sorry and then . . . Akane fell to the floor and three people in white suits came and escorted her to the nearest chair.
"Are you alright?" The first one asked.
The second one glared at the first one. "What do you mean is she alright? Look at her!"
"Sorry! I was just trying to help. This is that girl from the big crash today, right?" The first care aid looked at Akane with pity and the other knew exactly what was on the first one's mind.
"You can't tell her yet. Not yet. She's too unstable."
They helped a stunned Akane up as they talked. "She's been in here nearly thirty-six hours. We should tell her. She is in fine condition. Its just shock."
"We can't tell her. If I were just in an accident I wouldn't want to know that my boyfriend was-" The second care aid stopped herself and looked down to Akane. They had brought her back to her room and were taking her vitals. Akane heard this and went along with it, in silence. What about the girl's boyfriend?
"Am I . . . am I . . . that girl?" Akane weakly asked the surprised care aid. It nodded and the other settled her down into her bed.
"Come sit down, there'll be plenty of that later." The second care aid said calmly. The first started to cry and stopped when the other shot an unapproving glance towards the outburst of emotion the other had shown. Akane obeyed.
"Where's Ranma?" Akane asked softly. The others looked to each other and kept putting Akane back in her covers. Akane pushed them back and tried to spring up only to fall in her haste. Tears fell from her eyes and she felt the taste of salt on her bland tongue. She threw herself forward and managed to get out the door.
"WHERE IS HE?" This time the question and authority in Akane's voice was evident. The second care aid called for help as the first followed her cautiously. She ran down several halls and walked through a white and cream- colored door. She walked up to the care aid and looked to her face. The care aid nervously kept looking at a door a few feet away and as Akane followed her glare the care aid turned away and ran to get the others.
Akane ran into the room and saw it empty. She started for the light switch and noticed that this was the first sign of darkness she had come in contact with since she woke. She stepped into the room hating every second of it. Ranma was supposed to be here. Why wasn't he here? The light was out and it was utterly dark. Akane flicked on the light switch and shielded her eyes from the dark nature she knew would be in the room. It was worse. Nothing. The room was bare. Not a glimpse of life in the room. Ranma wasn't here. She ran to the bed and sifted through the covers for any sign of Ranma. He would have gotten flowers. Where were his flowers? She ran to the table where there were a bundle of roses and a card. Akane picked up the card afraid of what it might say. If it didn't say Ranma's name on it then that would mean that Ranma didn't need to go to the hospital. That he was fine. She turned to it.
To Ranma,
You lift our hearts and bring us joy-"
Akane could not read on. Ranma wasn't here. Maybe he had gotten better. She ran to the front of the room and was stopped by numerous guards. She heard soft voices as she felt a needle go into her arm. She felt the burst of the sedative. The last thing she heard was, '"How did she find his room? Does she know? Does she know?"' Akane screamed as she fell limply to the floor and the many people took her to her room.
* * *
Akane woke to her family crowding around her. She counted the heads. Five.
She noticed them become clearer and clearer as she awoke. Suru was twiddling his thumbs nervously and a nurse was trying to explain something to him. Akane was immediately alert. She was flirting with him. Poor gullible Suru hadn't noticed but she was flirting with him! She turned to look at the other events in the room. Nabiki and Dad were fighting about something. Kasumi and Dr. Tofu were arranging flowers at the far side of the room and whispering idly to each other.
"Is that six heads?" Akane didn't try to say this out loud but was too tired to talk inside her head. Everyone rushed to her side. Everything came at once and just like before everything went black.
* * *
They could have told her a million times, a million different ways but it wouldn't have made a difference. Ranma was dead and no matter how hard it was to break it to her every way they could say it meant the exact same thing. Ranma was dead. Gone. She couldn't tease or taunt him anymore. He couldn't tease her or taunt her. Everyway she thought of it came back to the outstanding thing.
Akane had never missed anything too important in her life. Not once had a subway train left right when she ran down the steps, never had Akane missed an important interview or anything like that. Today she realized that she had. Not just her, Ranma too. They had missed their chance. Every chance they had had to tell each other was gone now. They had always put it off and in its place needlessly bickered. She could no longer look at him and feel better. She could never think about the future they would have and would always dream of what could have been.
She was about to leave the hospital and yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't leave her room. It held her memories of him and she was afraid that if she were ever to leave then those memories of Ranma would evaporate like steam. She tried to walk out the door and was almost out the frame when she stopped herself. She had forgotten something and would have to go back for it. No. She had everything and needed to leave. She walked out the door and was relieved to remember Ranma as she walked through the halls. She waved to the people as she left. She needed to get out of here before something stopped her.
"Thanks for everything." Akane looked to the front desk and smiled to the people behind it. She smiled to them and ran past the front doors wiping tears from her eyes. The people waved and yelled their goodbyes as she ran.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the front door of said hospital a shadowed figured stared at the bold figure of a girl throwing her things to the dark gravel as she repeatedly dropped her keys. He saw her wipe numerous tears from her eyes as she got into her car.
The only sparkle from this dark corner was a trickle of light gleaming off of a tear from the shadowed figure's face.
"Please don't cry too hard ya clumsy tomboy! It'll take more than that to kill Ranma Saotome!"
A/N: There wasn't too much funny stuff in this chapter was there? I hope you like it and why do you think Ranma is pretending to be dead? What do you think of this chapter? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon!