Chapter Six

Chagrin

The Tendos arrived to the hospital first, Akane the first to enter the room. She flew to Ranma's bedside, instantly overcome by the sight of him bedridden. She hugged Ryoga tightly, and then looked back at Ranma worriedly. Soun and Nabiki looked on from behind them, and Kasumi came around to Ranma's other side, and pet his hair, already wiping her eyes. Ryoga looked around.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Saotome?" he asked.

"I called Nodoka as soon as I heard the news," Soun said, his voice thick with worry. "Saotome went there the other night. She said they'd be here as soon as possible."

Ryoga nodded.

"It's so drab in here," Nabiki sighed suddenly. "I'm going to go to the gift shop and find something to spruce up this dismal room."

Nabiki went over to the door, which suddenly flew open.

"Oh my, hello Ukyo." Kasumi said happily. "How wonderful you're here. I'm sure Ranma will be so happy to see everyone here when he wakes up."

Ukyo hurried inside, carrying a bouquet with a small "Get well soon" balloon floating up from the flowers. Nabiki looked at the flowers, shrugged, and decided to stay put. Ukyo placed the flowers on the small table by the bed, and then hugged Akane tightly. Then she bent down and kissed Ranma's cheek tenderly.

"Poor Ranchan," she said sadly. "What in the world happened?"

Ryoga shrugged. "They don't really know," he said. "All they know is that he got into a car accident. I'm not sure if he crashed, or if someone hit him, but either way they just found both of us unconscious and the car was wrecked."

"How awful," Kasumi said dreadfully. "You poor things."

Ryoga shook his head. "This is all my fault…"

"Ryoga, stop." Akane said instantly. "This is nobody's fault. This was just a terrible accident. You did nothing wrong."

"But maybe, if I hadn't been asleep…if I hadn't have gotten so carried away last night, I'd—"

Ranma's eyelids fluttered.

Ryoga stopped abruptly, and his eyes went wide.

"Ranma!" he cried, and everyone jumped and looked down at Ranma. There was a long pause, and then, Ranma's eyes slowly blinked open.

There was a resounding cry from everyone in the room. Ryoga snatched up Ranma's hand again, fighting Akane and Ukyo both for the spot. Ranma's eyes flicked over to them, and he blinked.

"Ranma, are you all right?" Ryoga asked anxiously, squeezing his hand tightly. "Can you hear me? Are you in any pain?"

"Dad, go get a doctor, quick!" Akane exclaimed elatedly, and Soun was out of the room in a flash. Ukyo pressed the red button for good measure.

Ranma continued to look around at everyone. His eyes were slightly half-lidded, as if he'd just been woken up from a long nap. He looked back at Ryoga, down to his hand being encased by six others, then up at Ryoga again.

"Are you okay, Ranma? Say something, anything." Ryoga pleaded.

Ranma shook his head. Ryoga's heart fell.

"You're not okay?" Ryoga asked fearfully. "What's wrong?"

Ranma shook his head again.

"So there's…nothing wrong?" Ukyo said slowly. "You gotta start makin' more sense, sugar."

Ranma did nothing. He looked at Akane.

"C-can you remember me, Ranma? You remember all of us?" she asked tentatively.

Ranma nodded. Akane sighed in relief. She looked at Ryoga, confused. Ryoga looked at Kasumi, who was going through her purse. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Ranma?" she said sweetly. Ranma looked at her. She smiled, holding out a small notepad and a pen. "Do you think you'd be able to write down what you'd like to say?"

Ranma nodded again. Ryoga and the girls let go of his hand so he could take the pen and pad of paper. Ukyo hit the button on the bed to put Ranma more upright, while he flipped past a few of Kasumi's grocery lists, trying to find a clear page. He found one, then started to write. He turned the little notepad around, and everyone leaned in to read.

Can't talk

"Can't…talk?" Ryoga murmured.

Ranma nodded.

Ukyo pushed the red button twice more. "Where the hells' that damn doctor?"

"Do you remember what happened last night, Ranma?" Akane asked. "Don't strain yourself if it's hard to remember."

Ranma had already started writing. Everyone waited intently. He flipped the notepad over again.

T-boned at the innersection. Driver was probly DUI.

"Oh dear, how terrifying for you." Kasumi said, patting Ranma's hand. Ranma looked down at Kasumi's hand, and blinked.

"Why hasn't he changed his face since he woke up?" Nabiki said suddenly.

"So, you noticed, too, Nabs?" Ukyo said, her voice serious.

Ryoga looked between the two solemn-looking girls, and then back at Ranma, who was watching Akane rub circles on top of his other hand with her thumb.

"He got hit on the head, and was just unconscious for nearly twenty hours straight, guys. I'm sure he's just exhausted." Akane said.

"I don't know, sis. His eyes are fully open now, but he just seems…blank." Nabiki said flatly.

"Nabiki…" Kasumi warned softly.

Nabiki the Ice Queen didn't seem affected at all by the look now on her baby sister's face. Akane looked at Ryoga, her eyes full of fear. Ryoga looked back at her, knowing his face probably looked ten times worse.

Ukyo was livid. "Where the fuck is the goddamn doc—"

"I hear that Mr. Saotome has finally woken up." Dr. Fushimi said suddenly. "I'm terribly sorry for my delay. I was several floors up and got stopped a few times on my way here."

Ukyo managed to look a little sheepish. "Doc, Ranchan ain't talking."

Dr. Fushimi raised an eyebrow at Ukyo. Soun, who had followed the doctor into the room, looked confused.

"Not talking?" he echoed.

Kasumi got up and greeted the doctor with a short bow. "I'm afraid Ranma can't speak to us directly right now, but he is able to communicate by writing notes for us." she said, her pleasant voice making the whole situation feel like a big fluffy dream. Dr. Fushimi took in Kasumi's words as he eyed the small notepad in Ranma's lap.

"He also hasn't moved his entire face since he woke up," Nabiki said, more matter-of-factly than her older sister. "He just looks around and blinks. His eyebrows haven't even moved the slightest inch."

Dr. Fushimi, a straight-to-the-point man himself, seemed to understand Nabiki's language much more. He listened to the middle Tendo daughter, nodding along, seeming quite intrigued.

"That is…some insightful information, ladies. Thank you," he said. "Allow me to take a further look at him. I hate to ask this of you all, since you all seem quite concerned, but I'd like to be as thorough as I can, so I must ask you all to…"

"Say no more, doc. We were already leaving." Ukyo chimed in. "We should probably give Ranma-honey some air, anyways."

"Ranma is a very good listener, and with the notepad it should make asking him any questions much easier for you both." Kasumi said to the doctor.

"Yes, thank you, you've been extremely helpful. I'll be just a few minutes. There are some chairs out in the hall; make yourselves comfortable and I'll be right with you all."

The family filed out of the room, Ryoga looking back over his shoulder to take one last look at Ranma. He wasn't looking his way. He was looking at the bouquet of flowers on top of his heart monitor, blinking at the balloon. Then Dr. Fushimi closed the door, and he was out of sight.

Akane's knees were vibrating. She clenched her hands into fists over and over again. She felt Kasumi put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We were supposed to go to the movies today," Akane practically whispered. Kasumi squeezed her shoulder.

"Nodoka, Saotome. You made it," Soun suddenly said. Everyone looked up to see the Saotomes walking toward them, Soun instantly walking toward Nodoka and offering her a comforting embrace. She was keeping calm, but her eyebrows were taut in a permanent worried line, her only giveaway. Genma stood beside her, his face firm. He nodded at his old friend and patted his shoulder.

"So," Genma said quietly, "is the boy awake yet?"

Soun nodded, smiling gently. "Ranma woke up moments after we arrived. The doctor is still with him now."

"Oh, thank heavens. How is he?" Nodoka asked eagerly.

Soun hesitated only a moment, but it was long enough for Nabiki to push herself off the wall she was leaning on and stand beside her father to explain Ranma's condition to his mother.

"Oh, dear," Nodoka said fearfully, putting a hand to her lips.

"Other than that, however, Ranma seems to be very healthy." Soun assured quickly. "So it's possible this bump to his head has only jarred his ability to speak momentarily. We won't know for sure until the doctor gives us his update."

Nodoka nodded slowly, taking it all in. Akane rose from her seat and put her hands on Nodoka's shoulders softly.

"Here, Auntie, have my seat." Akane said kindly, leading her once would-be mother-in-law to the chair.

Ryoga stood from his seat, and looked over to Genma, who was looking right at him. In fact, he hadn't taken his eyes off of him while Nabiki was explaining to them what had happened.

"Mr. Saotome, sir," he said slowly. "You can have my seat as well, if you'd like."

"When the man caring for my son comes out here," Genma said with a thin layer of ice on his voice. "I want to be able to greet him eye-to-eye."

Ryoga had to forcibly choke back the cringe at the shot Ranma's father had clearly just made, but he was positive the struggle it had taken him was prominent on his face, and that would be satisfaction enough for Genma. Ryoga shifted awkwardly on his heels. After what Genma had said, there was no way in hell he was sitting back down.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Dr. Fushimi stepped out and shut the door behind him again. He noticed the Saotomes and raised his eyebrows.

"Ah, looks like Ranma has more company," Fushimi said. "I'd have to take a guess, and say you're the boy's parents?"

Nodoka stood up and bowed, a little more hurriedly than her usual greeting. She looked at the doctor apprehensively, and he smiled warmly at her.

"Nodoka Saotome," she said breathlessly.

"Mrs. Saotome," Fushimi bowed slightly. "Your son has your eyes."

Ryoga saw Nodoka's own eyes begin to fill with tears. Genma stepped forward.

"Genma Saotome," Genma said, shaking the doctor's hand solidly.

"Mr. Saotome," Fushimi said. "A pleasure. You've raised a strong young man. I was saying to Mr. Hibiki earlier he has what we doctors call an impeccable constitution."

"I would hope the son I raised to be the heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, would be as such, doctor." Genma said unabashedly.

Dr. Fushimi's eyebrows rose even higher. "A martial artist, eh? I had a strong hunch."

"May we see him now, doctor?" Nodoka asked.

"Of course, ma'am. Everyone is allowed to come back inside, and I'll give everyone the rundown in there. Shall we?" Fushimi opened the door, letting the Saotomes file in first, followed by Soun and his daughters and Ukyo, and lastly Ryoga. Dr. Fushimi closed the door behind him, and gave Ryoga a quick smile. Ryoga tried to return something resembling it, but his whole face just felt crooked.

"Ranma, darling," Nodoka said wetly, her tears returning again and escaping her eyes. "Oh, my sweet boy…"

Ranma looked at his mother, blinking slowly. Then, he picked up the notepad and flipped to a new page. His mother watched him curiously through her tears. He turned the notepad toward her.

Hi mom

A weird sort of pained, but relieved laugh/cry burst out of Nodoka. Tears ran down her face, but she smiled, as she held her son's face in her hands.

"Hello, Ranma." she whispered.

Akane sniffled loudly, rubbing the tears just starting to roll down her cheeks. Kasumi wrapped an arm around her youngest sister, but she too had tears rolling down their cheeks silently. Nabiki watched on, patting Kasumi's back lightly. They all had a different way of showing it, but the tender scene before them overcame each mother-less sister. Ukyo stood over by Ryoga, and he could tell she was misty-eyed, as well.

Dr. Fushimi walked around to the other side of the bed to fully face the whole family. He had brought out a large chart, which was a colour-coded picture of the human brain. The family went quiet, and brought their attention to the doctor. Ryoga saw Ranma look over at the doctor as well, taking his gaze away from the women's teary-eyed faces.

"Ranma is a unique case," Fushimi began. "With trauma to the brain or skull, it's likely to see several different scenarios where an individual's senses may become impacted. I've heard of cases where people lose their eyesight temporarily after a concussion to the very back of the head—this is because the back of the brain, the 'occipital lobe', controls sight." He pointed to a small blue area on the back, lower side of the picture. "And of course, a common trait with cases of head trauma is memory loss. That is when the 'temporal lobe' is affected,"—he pointed to the area marked in yellow on the side of the brain, just in front of the occipital lobe—"This, thankfully, doesn't seem to be the case for Ranma. However, what has been affected is his speech—rather, his ability to speak."

"What part of the brain controls speech?" Akane asked. "Maybe that area was bruised, and that's why Ranma can't speak."

"The temporal lobe also supports language, but I don't think the temporal lobe was affected at all." Fushimi replied. "Ranma understands language just fine. However, it appears he may have become mute. This can occur in patients when something called the 'Broca's area', is affected." He pointed to a small green area, just above the temporal lobe.

"Oh, God," Ukyo blurted. "Ranchan's gonna be a mute?"

"It's possible that the trauma to the Broca's area may render Ranma a mute for the rest of his life. However, it could be temporary." Dr. Fushimi explained.

"Okay, so this spot called the Broca's area was damaged, which is why he can't talk," Nabiki chimed in. "So, why isn't he able to move his face around? He still hasn't. I thought for sure seeing his mother would trigger some kind of emotional response…considering Akane and Ryoga had no affect on him."

Dr. Fushimi nodded, then pointed to a large orange section at the front of the brain diagram. The Broca's area was just behind it, between it and the temporal lobe.

"This area here is the 'frontal lobe'. This area of the brain supports quite a lot. Mostly executive functions: thinking, planning, organizing, problem-solving. Again, none of that seems to be impeding Ranma. However, the frontal lobe also deals with things like behavioural control, personality…and emotion."

"Bingo," murmured Nabiki.

"It's difficult to say whether his personality has been impacted, and he hasn't given any tells that he has issues controlling his behaviour. He hasn't had mood swings, lash-outs…he isn't depressed or hysteric," Fushimi looked over at Ranma, who was still looking at him expressionlessly. "He's just…"

"Nothing." Genma supplied, darkly.

"Genma!" Nodoka cried.

"I wouldn't say 'nothing'. Ranma may not be executing any emotions, but just by my short interaction with him I can see he's far from a blank slate." Dr. Fushimi said.

"That's right. Ranma-honey has always been Mr. Personality." Ukyo added heartily, ruffling Ranma's hair.

"He's awful at poker." Nabiki muttered.

Akane laughed. "Ranma has always worn his heart on his sleeve." she said with a grin.

"Ranma has the biggest heart out of anyone I know." Ryoga said softly. He made the mistake of glancing over at Genma, who was glaring at him menacingly.

"I'm going to have Ranma stay with us for a while longer." Dr. Fushimi announced. "We'll need to do some proper scans of his brain, of course, and it's also just important for him to get plenty of rest, so he may as well stay in our care until we've ran all our tests and come to all our results. From now on, only time will tell what will change in his condition. He may start talking in he next few hours…maybe in a few weeks, or months. Or, he may be permanently mute. Of course, that is the absolute worst-case scenario. As for his ability to express emotions, the same applies. Only time will tell."

Nodoka nodded. "Thank you very much for all your insight, doctor." she said thankfully.

"Of course, ma'am. Now, I'll go and schedule Ranma an MRI as soon as I can fit him in." Dr. Fushimi put back the brain diagram and headed for the door. "You're all free to stay with him, of course. But, I assure you all, Ranma will be well taken care of here, and he's the image of perfect health, as far as I'm concerned. I don't think you folks will have anything to worry about. I'm sure he'll be a model patient, and make a speedy recovery." He smiled pleasantly, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked, Genma scoffed.

"Who does that quack doctor think he is? The 'image of perfect health'?" Genma shook his head irritably.

"That's quite enough out of you, dear." Nodoka said firmly. "If he believes our Ranma will be all right, then we should have faith in his judgment."

"Listen to yourself, Nodoka." Genma said petulantly. "The boy is an emotionless, mute husk. You really think that he's just going to suddenly be able to speak and talk again after being so disabled?"

Nodoka began crying again. "I—I just…" she whimpered. Akane grasped Nodoka's shaking shoulders, her face painted with concern and pity as the woman started to weep into her hands. Akane's eyes shot up to glare mercilessly at Genma.

"How dare you, Mr. Saotome!" Akane cried vehemently. "How can you just stand there and say that about your only son and put your wife in tears at the same time? Don't you have any shame at all?"

"You're only speaking to the most tactless man in all of Japan, Akane. Man wouldn't know shame if it bit him on the ass." Ukyo grumbled, glowering at Genma.

"I'm the only sensible person here!" Genma snapped. "While everyone else is fine living in their damn bubbly daydreams, I'm looking at the facts. And the fact of the matter is, Ranma is disabled, and it's all thanks to that ingrate!" His short, thick finger jabbed over at Ryoga accusingly.

Ryoga reeled backward, as if the force of Genma's hand had pushed him. He stood there, wide-eyed and frozen as Genma continued to point at him critically, the others watching on in astonishment. Ryoga shook himself out of it, and his surprise melted into cold, quiet rage.

"Look, you can go ahead and hate me all you want," Ryoga said quietly. "I don't give a damn what you think of me, I only care about how you feel about Ranma. He's been working his ass off these last few years with me. He wanted so badly to prove to you that he could live a good life with me—"

"A 'good life'?" Genma guffawed. "The boy disgraced himself and his family name, all to run off with some directionally-challenged moron who just mooches off of him while he does all the damn work. Having to do the work of a husband and a wife because he couldn't do right by his family and marry the woman that was picked for him at birth. Yet for reasons I'll never understand, he threw his whole life away to be with you."

Ryoga's teeth were grinding together. Genma stormed towards him.

"And how do you repay him?" Genma seethed. "You turn him into a fucking vegetable."

Ryoga looked like a feral animal. His teeth bared, his frame shaking with rage, he took a challenging step toward Genma, and Genma followed his lead until the two were in each other's faces, eyeing each other down fiercely.

Ryoga's rage evaporated suddenly as Ranma put himself between him and his father, his back to Ryoga. The family stared in amazement. Ranma had moved so quickly nobody had seen him leave the bed. Ryoga staggered backward, not believing his eyes. He stared at Ranma's back, blinking in astonishment. Ranma's frame was not tense; he stood completely still, his arms at his sides, facing Genma. Ryoga looked over at Genma to see the same expression that was on his own face. Ranma was staring right at Genma, and even though his eyes held no fire, Genma gawked at his son, growing smaller even under his blank gaze.

"Ranma…" Ryoga whispered.

Genma took a step backward, stepping down. He scoffed lightly, breaking his gaze with Ranma.

"Nodoka," he muttered. "We're leaving."

"I…I'm not going anywhere!" Nodoka exclaimed, looking appalled that her husband could demand they leave her son.

"The boy has plenty of people here to look out for him," Genma said, almost tiredly. "We can come back to hear about the results of his MRI."

Nodoka slumped, then looked over at Ranma, who was still standing in front of Ryoga. Akane laid her hand on top of Nodoka's.

"It's fine, Auntie. I'll call you as soon as we hear from the doctors." Akane said sweetly.

Nodoka complied dejectedly, casting one last pained look back at Ranma as her husband led them out of the room without another word. The door closed, and silence fell upon the room.

"Well, girls, I think it's best that we go, too," said Soun. "Now that we have peace of mind knowing Ranma has woken up, we'll just wait to hear the results of his MRI. We should give him some space and some rest beforehand."

"You're right, father," Kasumi said with a nod. "I'd like to pick up a few things for Ranma for his stay here, anyhow."

"I'll bring some movies for him to watch." Nabiki added.

"I should go back and help Konatsu close up the restaurant," Ukyo said. "I did promise I'd be back once Ranma-honey woke up."

Akane stepped over to Ranma, who looked over at her as she approached. "Ranma, why don't you get back in bed?" she offered, taking his arm. "You really need your rest."

Ranma complied, allowing Akane to lead him back to the bed.

"Akane, will you be joining us?" Kasumi asked. The Tendos and Ukyo were all heading for the door.

Akane seemed torn. She looked back at Ranma, who blinked at her. She looked at Ryoga.

"You can stay with Ranma if you'd like, Akane, but why don't you go and grab yourself a few things from home first?" Ryoga offered.

Akane seemed hesitant, but she nodded slowly. "All right, I'll be back later." she gave Ryoga a strong hug, and a peck on the cheek. She looked over at Ranma, and her eyes started to water. She knelt down, and grasped Ranma's hands. A tear escaped, and rolled down her cheek, and Ryoga watched Ranma's irises follow the tear down till it fell from Akane's jaw, and then he looked back up at Akane.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Akane sniffled. "I'll be back soon, Ranma, I promise."

She kissed Ranma's motionless lips. Then she followed her family out of the room, Ryoga watching them go. The door closed behind them, and he sat there for a moment in the dead silence. He turned around to face his Ranma, who looked at him. He blinked once again, and Ryoga smiled. The blink was already so familiar, in a strange way. He supposed it was because it was the only thing on Ranma's face that would move. Ryoga went back to the stool by Ranma's bed and sat down. He reached out and ran his thumb down Ranma's cheek. Ranma's eyes flickered over to the hand, watching it.

"Ranma," Ryoga said softly. "What was that back there? With your dad, when you came between the two of us?"

Ranma took his gaze off Ryoga's hand, and looked at Ryoga. He did nothing for a moment, and then he shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't know?" Ryoga said, confused. Ranma nodded. Ryoga furrowed his brow, taking his hand away from Ranma's face. "Did what he say about you make you mad?"

Ranma blinked. Ryoga waited patiently as Ranma sat still for a moment. Then he reached over for the pad and pen. He jotted something down quickly, turning the notepad around for Ryoga to read. All that was there was a single question mark.

"Question mark?" Ryoga said. "You don't know what I mean?"

Ranma nodded.

"About what?" Ryoga inquired.

Ranma flipped the notepad back around and added more to the page. He turned it again. In front of the question mark was now the word 'mad'.

"What do I mean by 'mad'…?" Ryoga said quietly. He said it mostly to himself, but Ranma nodded anyways. Ryoga looked up at Ranma, more confused than ever.

"Your father called you some terrible things, Ranma. He said you were an 'empty husk', a 'vegetable'…that didn't make you angry?"

Ranma quirked his head to the side, and blinked. Ryoga was starting to piece together that when Ranma blinked like that, it meant he didn't understand.

"You don't know what 'angry' means?" Ryoga probed.

Ranma shook his head.

"Um, well…your father and I were angry when we were talking to each other. He was mad because he thinks you've thrown your life away being with me, and now it's led to your accident, and what he said about you upset me. That's why you stopped us, isn't it? Because we were angry and about to fight."

Ranma blinked several times. Ryoga strained his brain, trying to find a better way to explain.

"You've been angry plenty of times before, Ranma. Do you remember what it felt like to be mad?" Ryoga supplied.

Ranma shook his head. Then he wrote something on the notepad and handed it to Ryoga.

Angry looks red

Ryoga stared at the words like he was trying to solve a math problem.

"When you were watching me and your dad, it looked…red?" Ryoga said slowly. Ranma nodded. Then he made a gesture with his hands, as if he was outlining his body.

Ryoga leaned forward intently. "Like an aura? There was red surrounding us like an aura?"

Ranma nodded.

Then it clicked. "If anger is red," Ryoga began quickly, handing the notepad back to Ranma. "What does happiness look like to you?"

Ranma looked down at his notepad, and wrote after a moment of pause. He showed Ryoga the page. It read 'yellow'. Ryoga smiled, nodding enthusiastically.

"Great, great…" he was bubbling over with excitement at his discovery. "What about…sadness?"

Ranma wrote the word 'blue'.

"What about love?" Ryoga said softly. He cupped Ranma's cheek. "What does love look like, Ranma?"

Ranma looked at Ryoga's hand again and blinked. He looked at Ryoga, then down at his paper. He did nothing. Ryoga waited, but the pause went on for so long he took his hand away, and his heart started to race.

"Ranma," he whispered. "What does love look like?"

Ranma looked up, and shrugged. Ryoga's heart sank.

"But…but, Ranma," Ryoga whispered fearfully. "You love me, don't you?"

Ranma regarded Ryoga vacantly, blinking slowly. Ryoga grasped Ranma's hands suddenly, making him drop the pen and paper. Ranma watched them fall to the floor, then looked back up at Ryoga, whose lips crashed onto his. Ryoga pulled Ranma closer, letting go of his hands and grabbing the sides of his face, kissing Ranma strongly. Ryoga's kiss slowly began to weaken, and then he pulled away, his face stunned. Like with Akane earlier, Ranma's lips had not moved. Ranma wasn't kissing him back. Ryoga backed away, his eyes wide. His heart wasn't racing, but it wasn't beating normally either. Ryoga wondered for a moment if it was even beating at all.

What an idiot he was. Of course Ranma wouldn't kiss him back.

Ranma didn't love him anymore.

Authour's Notes:

I'm learning more about the human brain writing a Ranma 1/2 yaoi fanfiction than I ever did in school.

So, we finally find out what's happened to Ranma, for the most part, and maybe the title of this fanfiction now seems a tad obvious. Ranma has lost his ability to speak, and strangely, show or feel emotions. He can depict them by the aura a person give off (red is anger, yellow is happiness, etc), but he doesn't understand why they are emitting that colour, and he can't express it for himself. When he looks back on his own memories of when he expressed emotions, he views it with the same lack of understanding as if he were watching someone else.

Does love really have no aura? Is Ranma incapable of love?

Stay tuned,

Jadells

P.S.

Ranma isn't well-known for outstanding penmanship, or spelling. So when you see Ranma's messages on his notepad, expect the ocasional lack of leters, and spellin errors