"Of Loss, Life, & Love"
A Ranma ½ Fanfic by Luna12
Chapter 33: "Character"

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Ranma didn't leave the hospital. First, returning to the burnt ruins of his apartment (which had never been much of a home to begin with) wasn't an option. Freeloading at Ukyo's was more than out, and Nabiki rightfully would slam the door in his face rather than let him freeload off the Tendos, even if it was just sleeping on the dojo floor.

But most of all...he wasn't ready to leave Akane.

Ranma hung around, waiting for the Tendo sisters to leave, before he knocked gently on Akane's door. There was no answer. He looked at the time. It was really late, nearly midnight, and Akane needed her rest...but the urge to see her, be with her, to reassure himself one more time she was okay would not be quelled.

So he slowly opened the door.

As he half expected, she was asleep. The overhead lights were already off in the room. Just the dull glow of a few nightlights and the electronic readouts next to her bed gave any illumination to the room. He was pleased to see her air mask was gone; it was a good sign of her recovery.

There was a beat up upholstered chair in the corner, and Ranma sat - telling himself over and over again that he was only staying for a few minutes…just enough to calm his nerves and let his mind and soul fully believe Akane was safe and healing.

In the end, it hardly surprised him to fall asleep.

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Akane awoke in the middle of the night to a familiar snore. She sat up and opened her eyes wide to adjust to the dark hospital room. A slow but very wide smile spread on her face. Ranma was deep asleep on the small chair in her room; his neck was tilted back in an uncomfortable and nearly comical position, and his mouth was half open as he snored steadily.

Akane felt her heart swell at the tenderness of his actions. Ranma had come to visit her, in fact seemed to have chosen to keep a bedside vigil. Ranma was so bad at expressing himself, and he was hardly a romantic. She had to cherish every rare moment that came.

Despite the warm emotions, Akane's bare arms had goosebumps and she shivered. Before tucking herself back in the covers, she noticed a spare blanket at the foot of her bed.

Her eyes went back and forth to Ranma's long legs spread out on the too small chair, to the spare blanket, as she gauged the distance between the two; it was only a couple of steps away.

Akane glared in frustration at her injured knee. She managed to use the bathroom with the nurse's help before, and her IV stand was on wheels. Maybe she could use the wall for support to reach him?

It was clumsy work. With mitten-like bandages on her hands, Akane was barely able to tuck the blanket under the same arm attached to the IV. She carefully used her free arm to support herself against the wall, taking most of the weight off her injured leg, and limped the few feet to reach him.

Knowing Ranma was a sound sleeper, (and lacking any manual dexterity with her bandages), she half draped, half threw the blanket over him. It was sloppy, but at least his legs and part of his chest would be kept warm.

Taking pride in the small victory, Akane carefully hobbled back to her bed. While snuggling back into her own covers, she heard Ranma stir and mumble in his sleep. For a moment, she thought she heard him murmur her name.

"Good night, Ranma," she whispered back. Heard on a subconscious level, Ranma's face relaxed as he slipped into deeper slumber.

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Ranma awoke feeling as stiff and sore as if he'd wrestled Ryoga all night. Instead, he'd been in the battle of Poorly-Stuffed-Upholstery.

Yet despite the crick in his neck, he felt more refreshed and relaxed than he had since moving out of the Tendo home. The reason bubbled up as a single word to his conscious thought: Akane.

Confident that Akane was safe and near gave him a feeling of centered wholeness. He shook his head at himself ruefully - subconsciously, he'd known for years that Akane had that effect on him. His times in the Nekoken proved that. Only now did he allow himself to consciously admit it.

He needed her. And he wasn't ever going to let her go. Not now. Not when he'd almost lost her again.

Was there anything really stopping him? The excuses of the past seemed so feeble in comparison to how he saw the world today.

He stretched and turned his head to get a better view of Akane. She was sleeping, but he could see she was stirring awake.

For a moment he panicked. In the past, being caught alone in her room when she awoke resulted in mallets and screams of "Pervert!"

Sheepishly, he realized he never gave Akane forewarning that he might visit her so late, let alone spend the night, in her room. He quickly stood up and prepared to escape. A blanket tumbled into a mess on the floor, and his previously covered legs goosebumped from the sudden absence.

Ranma rubbed his eyes blearily as he stared at the blanket. When did that happen? Maybe a friendly nurse had doned it on him in the middle of the night, rather than kick him out. Unless...

Ranma shook his head. Did that stubborn tomboy manage to hobble out of bed to put it on him?

Either way, he didn't want to risk a negative reaction. He had just reached the handle to the door when he heard her voice.

"Ranma?"`

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Akane was half awake when she tried to stretch and felt a stinging pull in the antecubital space opposite her elbow. The sharp pain brought her into full consciousness and she remembered she was attached to an IV and stuck in a hospital bed.

Akane sat up to see Ranma on tip toes with his back turned to her, his hand on the door handle.

Akane wasn't sure whether to laugh or roll her eyes. After he had spent all night at her bedside, he was trying to sneak out and pretend it never happened?

"Ranma?"

The young man jumped. "Oh, Akane, I wasn't doin' anything, I-"

Akane did roll her eyes as he verbally stumbled. "I know you slept in the chair, baka. It was sweet of you." She smiled at him for extra reassurance.

Ranma blinked as he let the information sink in. So it had been Akane who put the blanket on him...and she wasn't mad or worried that he tried anything perverted. He allowed himself to relax and come closer to her.

"So, you feelin' better?" he asked, taking in Akane's rosy complexion with relief.

"Yeah. They better let me out of here today, or I'll plan a break out."

Ranma laughed, understanding her restlessness and dislike of hospitals.

"How's your mother doing?" she asked, her face clouded in concern.

"Uh...okay, I think." Ranma felt his stomach sink with guilt. He hadn't checked on her. After the nurse had told him Nodoka would recover, he had stopped worrying. His only thoughts had been for Akane. It was a startling realization. As much as he had longed to have his mother back in his life, as much as he sought her approval and acceptance, it all paled before a simple truth:

I love Akane.

The thought reverberated in his mind, as strong as he had felt at Mount Phoenix, but without the near madness and grief. It was a fact he allowed his full consciousness to accept and repeat.

Ranma was notoriously wishy washy given tough choices - even he realized that if he had only taken a strong stance in the beginning, it may have avoided his multiple fiancée problem. Now, at long last, he was resolute. If he had to decide between his mother and Akane, he would choose out in the open like a man. There would be no more sneaking around to arrange visits. No more walking on eggshells. If his mother demanded an ultimatum, he'd call her on it. He wasn't going to let anyone else dictate his life and his own pursuit of happiness any longer. Amazon brainwashing, entanglements and other engagements be damned.

"Are you alright, Ranma?" Akane's concerned voice broke through his self-absorption. "You have a funny look on your face."

Ranma stretched again and gave a short nod. The realization felt freeing, if a little nerveracking at the same time. "Yeah...you just reminded me I have something to take care of."

Before Akane could react, Ranma let his instincts take over. His lips were on hers; soft, sweet, and intense as he gradually deepened it to her accepting, if quite surprised, response.

Reluctantly, yet with more determination than ever before, Ranma pulled away. On impulse he reached to caress her cheek lovingly, the look in his eyes matching his sweet touch.

"I'm gonna check on my mother. I'll see ya, later, then."

Akane was left speechless. Shock and happiness mingled, with giddiness winning out. Her lips tingled from the contact, but she managed enough cohesive thought to wave as he left.

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Ranma approached his meeting with his mother like a battle, mentally and physically preparing himself. He left the hospital grounds and covertly entered the gym at his school. He had no intention of attending classes today, but with the use of the locker rooms, he got to shower and clean off the sweat, soot, and grime he'd accumulated from the crazy past twenty-four hours. He also donned a spare set of clothing from his locker.

Feeling refreshed helped him put his thoughts in order. His world had shifted, ever so slightly, into brilliantly sharp focus. Akane was the woman he loved. The most important person in his life. Far more important than his mother's good will. He was through with playing nice, spinning plates trying to keep everyone happy. He wasn't going to wait for a cure to the Amazon brainwashing. It wasn't worth spending one more minute having to hide how he felt. Even if it meant never having his mother's love or affection again, it would still be worth it. He was seizing control of his life on his terms, as best as he could.

Ranma approached his mother's hospital room and knocked. According to the nurses, Nodoka was resting comfortably and had no more use of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. She would only have to stay in hospital for a few more days for observation and use extra oxygen while her lungs recuperated.

"Come in," his mother's voice called, hoarse but steady.

Ranma stepped inside. His mother's room appeared identical to Akane's, and she was hooked to as many wires and monitors as her, too. She was sitting propped up by pillows, a small oxygen feed trailing discreetly from a tank to her nose.

Her face lit up when she saw her son approach. Ranma pulled up a stool and took a seat next to her.

Nodoka opened her mouth to speak, but Ranma raised his hand in a polite, but firm gesture. "Mother, there's something I need to tell you, so please just hear me out first."

Ranma took a deep, meditative breath and began the speech he had mentally rehearsed.

"You know I love you, and I'll always be there for you, but I can't live without Akane." The unspoken declaration, that he could live without his mother, was there.

"I don't know when I'll be ready for marriage, but when it happens, it's going to be with Akane. With or without your blessing. Even if it means you never want to see me again."

Nodoka's eyes watered. Ranma braced himself for the worst. "Son, of course you have my blessing!"

Ranma nearly fell off the stool he was sitting on.

Nodoka continued tearfully. "I remember everything I said and did...and I don't understand it. Oh, I feel so ashamed. What poor Akane-chan must think of me!"

Ranma tried to reassure her, explaining again how it was all a result of Shampoo's trickery. Like Tofu warned, it did take a severe shock to negate the effects of the Amazon potions and brainwashing. Apparently a near death experience and being rescued by Akane did the trick. Not that it was something he ever would have planned or intentionally tried.

Nodoka sobbed into a tissue. Ranma floundered. He never could handle a woman's tears. Coming from his mother was even worse than usual. He desperately continued to reassure her.

"It's okay, really! I know Akane's forgiven you. Hell, she's sitting in her room more worried about you than her own injuries."

Nodoka sniffed, and daintily wiped her eyes with the additional tissue Ranma offered her.

"She's so thoughtful. Akane will make such a good mother someday!" She gave Ranma a pleading look and her eyes gleamed dreamily. "Can I expect grandchildren soon?" she asked hopefully.

At that, Ranma did fall off his chair.

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Akane's mouth gaped open. Her hospital room was piled with beautiful flower arrangements, spilling forth from every corner. The last few deliveries she had waved away, asking them to be distributed to other rooms; there was no way hers could hold them all.

At first, Akane was thrilled. She had no idea so many people would care to send her well wishes. Perhaps all her students at the dojo, and her classmates at school?

A different nurse, named Mori, came bustling in and read the cards. Apparently, they were all from one sender. "How thoughtful of your fiancé. This Kuno Tatewaki of yours really went overboard."

Akane groaned, a little nauseated at the thought. "Kuno-sempai is NOT my fiancé. Take them away. All of them!"

The nurse looked shocked. "Well, he certainly seems to care about you. I just assumed he was that pigtailed young man from before."

Akane shook her head. "The pigtailed guy is Ranma. Kuno is my very unwelcome stalker."

Mori's eyes went wide but accepted the explanation. She held a particularly stunning arrangement of orchids. "They're so lovely and expensive. Are you sure?"

Akane waved at the door with her non-tethered arm. "Toss them or give them away. Just, please, don't keep them here."

Mori left with her arms full (and barely a dent made into the pile of gifts). When the door opened again, Akane expected it to be the nurse to retrieve more.

If Akane's hands weren't hurting and bandaged, she would have face-palmed.

"Oh, my brave, fierce maiden of the martial arts! Soon as I heard thee had braved the element of fire and were laid low, I knew I, the Blue Thunder, must come to your side and restore you to health."

Yup, it was her crazy, former sempai.

Akane glanced at the controls on her hospital bed. There was both an emergency button and a nurse call button, but neither of which she could press with her fingers immobile and trapped in the thick wrappings.

Resigning herself to entertaining the lunatic, and trying to remind herself that the flowers (if over the top) were a nice gesture, she swallowed back her urge to yell at him.

"Uh, thanks for the flowers."

Kuno continued spouting off bad poetry and Akane sat back and tried to tune him out. At least with her in a hospital bed he wouldn't try to get fresh.

Or so she thought.

Overcome with emotion, Kuno announced, "Your fragile beauty overwhelms me! Let my passionate embrace rejuvenate thee!"

"GET OFF!" Akane screamed and squirmed under Kuno's pressing weight. Kuno had launched himself onto her bed, pinning her between his muscular frame and the firm mattress. Akane's left arm was still attached to her IV, and the bear hug he was giving her was causing it to pinch and pull painfully. She wrenched her right arm partially free and repeatedly bashed him on the head. With the thick bandages, (and his even thicker skull) he hardly noticed the impact. It only aggravated her burns, making them throb more intently. Akane's favorite and most effective move to repel Kuno was a scissor kick to the face, but her free leg was incapacitated from her knee brace.

She felt Kuno's arm begin to circle her lower back and Akane stiffened in outrage. "PERVERT!" With a surge of adrenaline, Akane awkwardly forced her uninjured leg into position and kneed Kuno hard in the groin.

Her attack stopped Kuno's wandering hands, and he crumpled into a whimpering heap on top of her. Akane had thought his weight crushing before, but now he wasn't even trying to support himself. She kneed him again, trying to launch him off her to no avail. "Get off!" Akane screamed again, her volume diminished by the lack of air she received with his head and body weight pressed against her chest.

"Get the hell off her!"

Sweet air rushed into her lungs as Kuno was violently thrown into the adjacent wall. Plaster cracked and crumbled onto the kendoist's head. Akane pushed herself up to see a furious Ranma, his battle aura flared.

He spared a quick glance her way. "You okay, Akane?"

Akane mutely nodded, still trying to regain her breath.

Kuno regained his feet, his stance comical and wobbly. Ranma's eyes were hard. From what he saw as he came in, and from watching Kuno fail to stand erect, Akane had done one hell of an injury on the family jewels. It was the only reason he wasn't pounding bokken-boy harder right now.

Confirming Ranma's deduction, Kuno's voice squeaked an octave higher than usual. "You have no right to interfere, scoundrel!" Kuno coughed and tried to regain his normal voice. "For mine ears have heard the sweet sound that is your annulled engagement, so Akane is free from your vile wickedness."

Ranma resumed his fighting posture, his voice flat. "Touch her again and you're dead."

Still bent over awkwardly, Kuno raised his wooden bokken in preparation to duel.

"Have it your way." Ranma cracked his knuckles in gleeful preparation.

"Stop!"

Both turned to look at Akane, her face pale yet furious. She was out of bed, leaning heavily on her uninjured leg. She was no longer tethered to the IV, as it had dislodged painfully during her struggle. There was a small trickle of blood from her upper arm where it was removed improperly.

"Are you both out of your minds?!" She scolded. "We're in a hospital. You can't fight here."

Kuno opened his mouth to speak, but Akane cut him off ruthlessly. "Shut up, Kuno! I'd love to let Ranma pulverize you, but then he'd get kicked out of the hospital."

"What is going on here?!" shrieked the nurse, as fate would beckon. The room was in total disarray. Besides the damaged wall, Kuno had crashed into one of the piles of flowers; broken glass, pottery, and wilted plants littered the floor. Akane's IV stand had been knocked over, the contents spilling into a puddled mess.

Kuno had finally recovered enough to stand properly, and he attempted to pour on the charm. He bowed to the horrified woman. "Fair nurse, I seek to remove this -" he raised his head and pointed at Ranma, "- foul fiend from molesting your patient."

Ranma practically growled. "You're the only one botherin' Akane, you perv."

Akane tried to explain the situation. "Nurse Mori -"

"I don't care who started the fight! You two are both to leave now. If I catch you near my patient again, I will call security."

Both young men began to protest, but the nurse's stern glare cut them off. They reluctantly left the room.

Nurse Mori clucked her tongue at Akane while guiding her back to the bed.

"You're being discharged tomorrow, but that's no excuse to be straining that knee." Akane sighed, but nodded agreement. Mori frowned as she cleaned and bandaged Akane's bleeding arm. "I.V. won't go in that arm again. Now be a good patient and stay put!"

With the nurse's stern scolding finished, she left.

Akane heard the door click shut. She looked down at her useless, bandaged hands in disappointed disgust. Alone and with the imminent danger past, Akane found herself shaking. Sure, she'd been kidnapped before, and been in other disabling positions, but having Kuno successfully hold her down like, like that...it was sickeningly different. Never before had she felt in danger of the unthinkable.

Unbidden tears dripped down her nose and Akane awkwardly wiped her eyes with bandaged hands.

There was a quick rapt on the door and Nurse Mori reentered the room. "Your cousin Ranko is here to see you. Should I let her in?" Her tone was heavy with doubt and suspicion. The red-haired girl was a bit odd. She had no family resemblance to Akane at all, but she could easily pass for the twin sister of Ranma. She was even wearing the same color and style clothing. And why was her hair wet?

Akane grinned despite herself. "I would love to see Ranko."

The red-haired girl entered as the nurse departed.

'Ranko' immediately noticed that Akane had been crying. Had Kuno hurt her? Dammit, he really was going to pulverize that pervert next time he saw him.

"You okay?" Ranma asked in his cursed soprano voice.

Akane shrugged, embarrassed that she had to be saved by Ranma yet again. "Yeah... thanks."

Now what had he said wrong? He came back, used his curse to disguise himself as a different person to check up on her, but she seemed more depressed than when he had left. He would never understand women.

"If Kuno hurt you in any way, I'll-"

Ranma was cut off by Akane's frustrated explanation. "I've always been able to push, kick, or hit Kuno away before. I've never been this... weak." Her voice was trembling, as were her hands. She was glaring at her bandages with loathing.

Instantly, Ranma understood. He remembered his own shock after the Moxibustion pressure point attack left him as weak as gnat's piss. The shame and embarrassment had been so overwhelming he had run away. They both prided themselves on their martial arts skills, and even if Akane wasn't as good as him, she was still a talented black belt.

Ranma came and sat on the edge of her bed, making direct eye contact before speaking. "You're not a weakling... normally. You got injured. Soon as your hands get better, you'll be usin' that gorilla strength of yours to punch Kuno to the moon in no time."

Akane sniffled, but Ranma's words succeeded in coaxing out a delicate smile.

"Thank-"

"I love you." The words escaped his mouth so naturally, exactly what he was thinking, that it stunned both Ranma and Akane into silence. Akane's eyes went wide in what he could only assume was shock.

Shit, Ranma thought to himself. He said that aloud! Now, of all times? He wasn't even a full man right now. At the same time… he wasn't going to take it back. It was true. It felt right, and he wasn't going to run away from it any longer. He couldn't count on fate giving him any more chances.

Akane blinked in doubt, for a moment unable to breathe, even though she had long suspected as much; there had been all the near confessions, what she swore she heard at Jusendo, and the revelation from the True Love Mirror. Yet, hearing it direct and clear from Ranma's own mouth left her speechless. She felt her heart seize with an elation so intense it was nearly painful. She had waited so long to hear him say it, half wondering if it would ever be in him to say.

"You mean it?" she whispered, tears returning to her eyes.

Ranma blushed shyly. The old instinct to backpedal or somehow deny it was strong, but not strong enough. His eyes never left hers. "Yeah."

For a moment, Akane was disappointed that the first time Ranma declared his love was in his cursed female form. Yet, the deep blue eyes staring back at her in the pretty face were the same. Even in his alternate body, the lopsided smile he gave her was identical. In the end, it was still her Ranma.

"I guess only I'd be crazy enough to love a tomboy like you, huh?" he teased.

Akane grinned widely and tried to mimic his same teasing, but affectionate response. "Yeah...and I guess only a tomboy like me could love a cursed, arrogant, chaos magnet like you."

Ranma shook his head, bemused. Touché.

In a more serious and quiet voice, Akane continued. "I do. Love you, too, you know." Her cheeks gained an extra hue of pink as she gave him a nervous smile.

What their eyes were communicating to each other was so much more than either would have been able to put into words. The last of their old fears and insecurities were finally stripped away, leaving room for dizzying joy.

Ranma tilted his head and leaned forward, ready for their lips to meet, but moments before they could touch she stopped him with an upheld bandaged hand. "Uh, Ranma...not that I mind the sentiment, but would you use some hot water first?"

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Authors note:

Ranma blurting out the "I love you" is strongly based on how my husband (at the time, boyfriend of only a few months) first said it to me randomly when I was upset and crying from something my father had done to me. So if it seems weird that it wasn't the most romantic moment filled with moonlight and drawn out sexual tension, please keep in mind that real life isn't always romantic; having it spoken, plainly and truthfully, in a moment of need is far more memorable and meaningful to me, anyway.

Original Publication Date: Dec. 12, 2014