Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews... even the threatening ones. LOL... I'm not sure if I should be flattered or afraid. Anyway, I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long. I just graduated college and my last semester was a REALLY hard one. I hope to eventually finish this story, but since it's been so long since I've written it, I'm not sure how quickly the chapters will be written from here on out. But I honestly haven't forgotten!

Lost Time
Chapter 12 – Connected
By: Lori Finnegan

Ranma grabbed onto another small rock with his other hand and tried to pull himself up. "I said I can make it up on my own!" he insisted, looking up at Inuyasha… but he was gone. He tried to wedge his left foot into the side of the cliff, but the rock crumbled, and his fingers slipped away from their hold.

'This is it,' he thought, staring up at the two fingers that still held to the edge.

A hand clapped onto his wrist, and sharp fingernails dug into his skin. Before he could protest, he was being pulled up over the side of the cliff and crawling onto solid ground.

"You asshole!" he yelled at Inuyasha. "I told you I could do it myself!"

"Heh!" Inuyasha said, turning his nose into the air. "You were about to fall!"

"I was just about to swing myself up!" Ranma insisted.

Inuyasha glared over at Ranma. "You pathetic human. You would have died if I didn't help you. You should be bowing to me and thanking me for saving your life."

"Like hell!" Ranma scoffed. "Why should I thank you for helping me when I didn't even need your help? When I asked you to stay the hell away?"

"Say whatever you want to say. The fact of the matter is that you ran away, got yourself into some shit, and then relied on me to save your sorry ass. Don't make it out to be any different than it is."

Ranma stood up and glared down at his ex companion as he squeezed his bloody fists until they stung. "The reason I left was because you don't seem to have your priorities in order. Saving Akane should be number one. Who cares about some stupid shard?"

"Some stupid shard?" Inuyasha echoed in disbelief as he stood up and stepped closer to Ranma. "For your information, your fate relies on what happens to that stupid shard. If Naraku uses the whole Shikon jewel, then you AND Akane will both be dead along with the rest of us."

Suddenly, the world started spinning, and the next thing Ranma knew, Inuyasha had grabbed his collar and lowered him to the ground.

"Dammit," Inuyasha muttered, peeling the folds of torn fabric away from Ranma's back. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Ranma sat, holding his head in his hands. The pain from the cuts in his back had hit him head on. "I'm fine," he said. "I just need to sit here for a second."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm FINE!" he yelled, but just as the words left his lips, another rush of dizziness came. "Ugh."

Inuyasha squatted down next to him. "I need to get you to Kagome. She has a box of special healing stuff."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean a first-aid kit?"

"Whatever," Inuyasha mumbled as he turned around. "Climb on my back. I'll take you down the cliff. Kagome and your stupid friend are down there."

"That moron is not my friend," Ranma glared.

Inuyasha glanced back at him. "What are you waiting for, Ranma? Don't you wanna save Akane?"

Ranma blinked at him. "Of course, I do," he said as he grabbed onto Inuyasha's shirt and pulled himself up.

Five minutes later, Kagome dabbed Ranma's wounds with a damp piece of cloth. "Don't be such a baby, she said as he cringed. "If I don't clean your wounds, they'll only get infected and hurt more."

Ranma gritted his teeth. He felt like a first rate loser. Not only did he fail to think through his plan to go off on his own, but he'd gotten pretty hurt and had to be carried down the cliff… but Inuyasha, no less! He still felt a little light headed, but he was doing better after drinking plenty of water from Kagome's canteen. Once she had him all bandaged up, he carefully put his torn shirt back on. If he was going to find Akane and fight for her safety, he was going to have to be in top shape!

"Naraku-sama?" Naraku heard Kanna say at the doorway.

"What is it," he demanded, not bothering to turn his head.

"The girl is not well. She's been crying since last night and won't stop. I don't know how to calm her."

Naraku flicked a speck of dirt from beside his futon. "It's just as I feared," he muttered. "She's dying of despair. Place the charm like we discussed. We have no other option. If the girl dies, then so does the shard, and I will never have the completed Shikon jewel."

Akane sat in the corner of a small bedroom, curled into a tight ball. She had been crying so long that there were no longer any tears to cry. Now, she only hurt. Nothing mattered if she couldn't see Ranma anymore.

Where was Ranma? Shouldn't he have saved her by now? And if he wasn't thinking of her, then what was he thinking of?

"Ranma…" she cried, burying her face between her knees and sobbing dry tears.

At the moment, the door opened and the little girl who held the mirror appeared.

"Look into my mirror," she said, and Akane couldn't help but do so. A small stone the same as the one which hung from her beads materialized in the center of the mirror before floating out and towards her. Painlessly, it plunged within her chest, and made her heart numb. She wasn't sure if she felt better or worse… and then, she blacked out.

Ranma clenched at his chest in pain. He had been resting alone that evening when his heart suddenly ached like nothing he had ever felt before. After a few moments of intense pain, it became a dull ache, but he still worried. Maybe his wounds had been deeper than he had originally thought.

"Hey," Inuyasha's voice came from behind him. "You okay?"

Ranma turned his head around. The second his eyes met with Inuyasha's, a loud voice echoed between his ears.

"Kill him."

He clamped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. So maybe he didn't particularly care for Inuyasha, but the guy HAD saved his life. Ranma definitely didn't want to kill him. Something odd was going on…

"I… I…" he sputtered, squinting at the other boy. "I heard a strange voice…"

Inuyasha stepped back from him. "What did it say?"

The voice came back. "You'll never find your girlfriend if you let Inuyasha live. He's holding you back. KILL HIM."

Ranma pressed his into his hears. It was coming from within him! But… those weren't his thoughts. He knew that much.

"What did it say?" Inuyasha repeated, this time louder.

"Get away from me!" Ranma yelled at him.

"What? Why? Tell me what the voice is saying!" Inuyasha stepped closer until he was close enough to grab Ranma's arm. He held onto it so tightly that Ranma could feel his sharp nails digging into his skin.

"Do it NOW!" the voice screamed.

"No!" Ranma yelled back, and Inuyasha grabbed his other arm. "It's saying that… that I should kill you," he finally spat out.

Inuyasha continued to stare at him. "What else?"

"That you're holding me back. That I'll never find Akane if I don't kill you now," Ranma cringed under Inuyasha's claws.

"When you were alone, did you run into anyone else besides Kouga and those bird demons?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

Ranma shook his head.

"I have Akane," the voice went on as Ranma sank to the dirt, released from Inuyasha's grasp. "If you listen to me, I'll give her back to you unharmed."

"Don't listen to the voice," Inuyasha advised. "I'm guessing it's Naraku messing with you."

"He's only saying that because he doesn't want to die. He knows that he'll never be able to help you find Akane. Kill him now and get it over with."

Ranma put his hands back over his hears. "Get away from me!" he yelled at Inuyasha. "I have to find Akane on my own! This voice is trying to control me, and I don't want the rest of you to get hurt. Let me take care of this by myself."

"The hell I will!" Inuyasha growled. "I'm getting the entire Shikon jewel whether Akane's involved or not! There are more important things than the life of one measly human!"

Ranma stood up on his feet. Now he really wanted to kill him. "More important things than Akane!" he echoed in disbelief.

"Look, Ranma, or whatever the hell your name is, I know you're in love with her and all, but that doesn't change the fact that you're both insignificant humans who don't even matter. I should have just killed Akane and took her shard when I had the chance. Then none of us would be in this—"

"SIT! You MORON!"

Inuyasha landed face first into the dirt, and Ranma could only stare blankly at the top of his head. He suddenly felt really tired.