A.N.: the title implies many things about this chapter… I really couldn't leave you with the story the way it was back there, could i? NEVER! And believe me, it only gets better! Thanx so much for the reviews! Keep 'em coming.. they make me happy… I shall reward reviewers…whit lots of good stuff!

Chapter 17: Regaining Memories

The next morning was a bit haphazard. Akane forgot to set her alarm because she was half asleep by the time she got back to her bedroom. Ranma woke her up after Kasumi realized Akane was sleeping in.

They left a little after breakfast and had to run to school. Akane slowed down when they were about half way there.

"I can't run anymore. It's okay if we're late." She said, huffing and puffing for air. She was tired and still a little worried about her fiancé. If he didn't remember soon, they might have to postpone the wedding.

"Ranma?" She asked. "Yes?" He responded.

"Um, never mind." She said, blushing. She didn't want to just outright ask him if he remembered making that promise to her. He was asleep! He probably didn't remember at all.

Ranma was actually worried that Akane was going to be upset at him for not sleeping in her room like she wanted him to.

"Um, actually, I hope you aren't mad at me." he said. Akane was confused by this. She had been in her own world trying to figure out how she could ask him if he remembered that he made a promise to her, and was suddenly snapped out of it.

"Mad at you? why would I be mad?" she asked.

"Well, because I didn't sleep in your room like you wanted me to. I'm sorry, I just didn't feel right about it. you might have wanted me to, but I didn't feel comfortable. That's why I slept on the couch." He said.

"Oh." She said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressured you like that. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." She said.

"No, please, don't feel bad. I can tell you're worried about me because you came down to check on me right?" He asked.

"You remember?" she asked, not really thinking.

"Akane, I lost my memories from before I got hit in the head, not all the memories after it." he said jokingly.

"No, I mean, you know I was there?" She asked, feeling stupid.

"Yeah. Thanks." He said. He didn't want to say that he remembered the promise, because it might put them in some sort of odd situation where he'd swear to remember over and over and over, and it would just turn into some ongoing circle of hope and false belief. This of course didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

Ranma already knew that he made Akane that promise, and he wanted to do everything within his power to keep it, without constantly reminding her of the fact that he was just the body of her fiancé, her lover, without the memories and genuine feelings. But how he planned on getting those lost memories back, he did not know.

They reached the school within the next few minutes. The bells were just ringing. "C'mon! we can still make it!" Akane grabbed his hand and pulled him so they could make it to class on time. All of a sudden he remembered another time when she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from something.

This was definitely something new. It was a memory! But nothing to get too excited about. He was happy though, because just a small touch made him remember something. Maybe if he tried to figure it out, he could find a way to remember everything.

"De ja vu…" he mumbled to himself with a small chuckle.

Being that it was the first time back to school for both of them, the other students wanted to know what happened.

At lunch everyone asked Akane and Ranma what happened, and Akane tried to explain as much as would be sufficient. "Our dojo collapsed and we were both injured." Akane said, pointing to her wrist that was wrapped up.

"Ranma, didn't you save her? I thought you were supposed to be her knight in shining armor." One of the students asked.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" He asked. "You see, he did, and that's why he has amnesia." Akane said. A lot of the boys who were the more crude ones, asked Ranma what it was like finding out he was cursed to be a girl when hit with cold water.

They all got hits on the head from both Ranma and Akane and didn't ask any other questions along that line.

Ranma got another small memory from hitting some of the guys. They were just memories of when he used to do that when they got annoying or annoyed Akane. He smiled to himself and tried to think of things to do after school to help him get another memory. His goal was at least two more by then end of the day.

School was a bit interesting. Because he did actually remember making that promise to Akane, it meant he was partially awake, and so he was tired during their very boring math lesson. He found himself falling asleep and couldn't help it one bit.

Ranma woke when the teacher hit him on the head with her teaching stick and gave him extra homework for being disobedient. This made him remember another time when that happened and how he tried to make Akane help him with the assignment, and how he felt trying to use the "because I'm your fiancé" excuse.

'I was a complex person.' He thought. The memory made him remember the feelings he felt at the time of the memory. It made him so happy to say that he was Akane's fiancé, but the insecurity of not knowing whether or not she returned those feelings was insane, even if it was just over the simple question of "does she like me the way I like her?"

All of this was beginning to make Ranma feel as if he was watching a movie backwards. He knew everything that was happening in the present, and was trying to figure out what happened in the past. He knew that Akane loved him and all of that, but finding out how they fell in love was the most interesting thing.

On the way home, Ranma asked if they could go to Ukyo's restaurant, hoping that he would find the next clue there. Akane obliged and walked contentedly as though she knew she could trust in ranma and not worry about anything.

They got to Ukyo's restaurant and took some seats. He asked Ukyo to make him the okonmiyaki she always made him, and she more than happily obliged. Her actions actually aided his plan, because she threw it at him the way she used to.

When he caught it, as he hoped, he got a memory, and this time, the emotions were very strong. It was the memory of when Ukyo came to town in order to get her revenge on him for having to live her life as a boy.

Ranma remembered when she said she was supposed to be his fiancé and how mixed his feelings were. They had always been friends, and that was how he thought of her. He was in pain because he knew he would be hurting Ukyo, but even more so because the whole sitution was hurting Akane. Akane was the one who he really intended to marry. It was like that since they met.

Akane was the one girl he could see himself with in the future, and he hoped to make her love him so that they could live happily together. It was then that he realized that he never wanted to make her doubt him.

"Ranma, why do you look sad? Is it the okonomiyaki? Did I cook it wrong or something?" both Akane and Ukyo were staring at him worriedly.

He looked up at Ukyo who was standing and said, "I'm sorry Ucchan. I didn't mean to ever hurt you."

Both girls were confused until it hit them. "Ranma, you said Ucchan! I never told you that was what you used to call me! You remembered! You remembered!" Ukyo shouted.

"Ranma, what did you remember?" Akane asked.

"I remembered when Ucchan came here and we found out she was supposed to be my fiancée, and all of that." He said. "Ucchan I'm sorry for that." He said. "I never meant to hurt you if I did." He looked sad.

"Ranma, forget it, okay? Its in the past and we took care of that ages ago. Besides, I've moved on." She pointed to Ryoga who was working at the counter.

Both girls didn't notice anything until it hit them. "Ranma, you said Ucchan! I never told you that was what you used to call me! You remembered! You remembered!" Ukyo shouted.

"Ranma, what did you remember?" Akane asked.

"I remembered when Ucchan came here and we found out she was supposed to be my fiancée, and all of that." He said. "Ucchan I'm sorry for that." He said.

"Ranma, do you remember anything else?" Akane asked.

"Well I did remember something in school, sort of like deja vu. But not much." He said.

"Ranma that's great!" She said excitedly. She almost jumped out of her seat in excitement.

Ranma felt a little uncomfortable telling them because now it meant that he might be under pressure to regain more memories, and he wasn't sure if that would happen.

Ranma and Akane left the shop and walked home. Akane was all smiles, because she had a little bit of hope that she might get her Ranma back. All of a sudden, Ranma was splashed with water. She shouted at the person responsible and told them to watch where they're splashing.

When they got home, Akane decided to not tell everyone else about Ranma's memories, and he was thankful. The last thing he wanted was more people to get excited and put more pressure on him, but he still wanted to know for himself.

"Ranma," Akane started before Ranma-chan got into the bathroom.

"Yes, Akane?" she asked.

"I don't want you to feel pressured to try to remember things, okay?" Akane asked.

"I'm still going to try. I wont feel pressured from you, but I want to remember so I know who I am." She said, and ducked into the bathroom before Akane could say more.

Ranma sat in a hot bath in deep thought. He realized he remembered certain things with similar triggers. He remembered the stuff about Ukyo with her okonomiyaki, and he remembered something that happened with Akane when she touched him for a brief second.

This then made him think about the memories he wanted more than anything. Akane. He wanted to know everything that happened between them. There was so much that must have happened, but what was it? It was more than want. Ranma needed to know.

But if memories need triggers, the memories of Akane need a trigger too. And if he wanted to remember everything that happened between them, there was only one way.

"No, there has to be another way. I'm not going to do that. I can't. It's not right." He said finally, getting out of the tub. With that decision made, Ranma dressed and decided to find another way to get his memories back.

Ranma slept on the couch that night and the next few that followed. Akane remained in Kasumi's room just incase Ranma wanted to sleep in hers still. She always checked on him to make sure he was ok. Over those days, he regained a few memories. Kuno triggered a few, and so did Ryoga. He was starting to get annoyed though, because the memories were just basic facts. There weren't many emotions involved. All they really were were memories of fights or competitions.

He was really starting to panic, thinking his memories might never return. Today, there had been no triggers at all. Nothing. It was already late afternoon, and nothing. Ranma couldn't take being in the house. Akane… she couldn't find out that he didn't remember anything. Yes there was no pressure, but of course she wanted him to remember. He wasn't her Ranma until he had all of his memories. That thought was enough to put him over the edge.

"Hey, Ranma? Are you feeling allright?" Akane asked. "You look like something's bothering you." She said. She put her hand on his shoulder in a gentle way, and he jumped away, shocked.

"Get away from me!" He shouted. He realized what he did, and then that her touch brought no memories to him. The look on her face was more painful for him to look at than the thought that he hadn't gotten memories from her touch.

"A-Akane, I'm sorry." He said.

"It's ok Ranma. Really. Just, I have to go, excuse me." She walked away, bringing her hand to her face, hiding her tears. She left the house, and broke into a run. She didn't know what exactly she was running from. Maybe it was the fear that he didn't love her, or maybe it was the fear her Ranma might never come back. All she wanted to do was get away.

The wind blew and clouds began to move in. another rain storm was moving in, but Akane was too distraught to notice. She ran until her sorrow threatened to consume her, and found a bench under a cherry tree and sat. The darkening sky flashed, and thunder's low growl caught her attention. Ranma was already chasing after her, hating himself, and wanting more than anything to make her happy again.

The wind blew and sakura petals brushed against his face, making him look up to find her. She sniffled, not noticing him until he spoke her name softly.

"Akane…"

Ranma approached her slowly and cautiously. She looked up at him with glistening eyes.

"Akane, I'm sorry for reacting like that. It's just, you have no idea how scared I am right now. I am so scared that I'll never remember you. . I want to remember what you mean to me. I want to remember how you felt in my embrace. I want more than anything to be the Ranma you fell in love with. I want to be the man who you vowed to spend your life with." He said. Akane's tears came back full force. She was about to say something, but there was another flash of lightening, and a loud crash of thunder.

The tree they were sitting under was hit, and the branch directly over them started to fall.