Acceptance by Darren Demaine

Ranma 1/2: Acceptance

Produced by: Horde O' Hentai Productions, Literature Division
Darren Demaine: Chairman of the Horde, President for Life
(chance of parole in 20 years)
Lee (Grey Wolf): Pun Minister, Guy we rub for luck
Rob (Barbarian): P.U. officer, Breath weapon specialist
Craig (Dr. Ruminhui): Minister without parole
Planned by: Darren Demaine (who doesn't get out nearly enough)
Written by: Darren Demaine (yes, him again)

People who actually have the right to sue me over using these characters: Takahashi Rumiko-megamisama, Pony Canyon, Sohnen Sunday, Shogakukun, Viz Communications.

From dark, billowing clouds that obscured the sky overhead, torrents of rain fell upon the two figures that struggled forward. The lights of the street lamps tried vainly to bring any glow to the bright red hair of the shorter figure. Dressed in a white martial arts gi, and bowed under the weight of an enormous backpack over her shoulders, the girl was wet, cold, miserable, and angry with her companion.

"Baka! You should have checked the weather forecast before we left on this damn training trip! A week in the mountains getting rained on the whole time is no damn fun Oyaji!"Beside her the large, soaked panda growled something and rummaged around in its own backpack for a moment. From it the panda pulled out a large wooden sign and held it up so the girl could read it through the driving rain. [Suffering brings growth!]

"This curse makes me suffer, so how come I lose about a foot in height!?" Ranma-chan grilled her father, too miserable to bother and see if he responded. Since her first visit to China, Ranma had formed a serious dislike of rain showers. Today's was especially bad, with the heavens pouring a torrent of unending, icy cold water down upon her. Each droplet hit with the feeling of a miniature hailstone and her over-large gi, the one that fit her male body so perfectly, left folds in the opening that allowed rivers of water to get inside and run frosty streams against her skin. In the distance,the flickering glow and rumble of approaching lightning and thunder could be picked out.

Right now, Ranma was feeling really rotten; a week with the old man, by themselves training in the lost reaches of Japan and being rained on the whole time had taken their toll on her. As far as Ranma was concerned, the whole thing was just another attempt by her father to get away from Happosai for a week. Either that or some bill had come due and the old man had decided to sneak away till the heat died down.

It was odd, she thought, shivering as the rain continued down on them. Before, she'd always liked the training trips with her father: it was the only kind of life she'd ever known. However, since arriving at the Tendo's the trips had become less and less frequent.

At first, Ranma had to get used to living in one place for a long period of time, but as time passed she found that she wasn't missing the trips. It wasn't like she ever had time to. For all the trouble that happened at the dojo, Ranma had to admit it never had been boring.

Not boring, she amended, hunching her shoulders against the cold rain, but not always fun. Like this 'working vacation' Genma had dragged her off on; at first she'd been glad to get out of town for a few days. A change of scenery was always nice, at least for a little while, and she'd looked forward to some stress-free training.

Especially since Akane had been ticked off with her for some reason.

Ranma couldn't even remember what it was she'd done that had set her iinazuke off this time. Whatever it was, it had made leaving the house an attractive option. In fact, Akane had sent her off on her trip with a good boot to the butt. But then the rain had set in and Genma had spent most of his time trying to sneak food away from the locals in the region. The only training they'd gotten done was when Ranma had attacked her father just for him being himself. That had kept them busy for a few days, however the rain had only increased and they'd gotten colder and more miserable. Finally, after his panda form had nearly gotten washed away in a flash flood, Genma had decided that it was time to go back.

Whatever the reason, Ranma was glad to be heading home. The cold was getting to her and she missed some good home cooked meals, rather then the stuff her father managed to steal. As well, she kind of missed seeing her mother. Having Nodoka around was a new experience, but despite not having known her mother for years, Ranma was discovering the woman to be someone she was growing to care for quite a bit. In just the week she'd been out training, Ranma had started to feel the separation; and knowing that Nodoka had been all but abandoned by her husband and son for years made Ranma feel guilty.

Turning the final corner, the two drenched travelers started to trudge in the shadows cast by the dojo's outer wall. The white-washed stone was muted into a depressing gray by the gloomy clouds overhead and the harshly beating rain, but Ranma still felt her spirits spark up a bit upon seeing them. It would be good to get away from Oyaji and see her mother. With a little luck, she could convince Kasumi to make seconds for tonight's dinner; that along made coming home attractive. Heck, Ranma was even looking forwards to seeing someone else as well...

Under the continuing assault by the falling rain, Ranma-chan forced one of the wooden gates slightly open. Slipping in, she deliberately left the opening too small for the panda. While her father struggled to get his bulk through the small crack, Ranma looked up at the place she had admitted to herself was starting to feel like... 'home.'

It was dark. Rain drove hard against the building, covering the whole thing in a sheet of water that obscured sight beyond a few feet. From what Ranma could see, the front lights were off while the upstairs windows were blank and empty. There might have been lights on in the back of the building, but she couldn't see that far through the crashing rain. It was odd that the house would be dark this time of night: Kasumi usually kept the whole place warmly lit, and it would be unusual for all the six remaining people to be out at once.

Instead, the whole place seemed to emanate a chill.

The wind drove a particularly cold sheet of water against her numb skin and Ranma would have shrugged if she hadn't been busy shivering. The weather easily banished such thoughts when they were compared to how nice it would be inside. Stepping up to the front porch, her fingers shook as she groped for her keys and thrust them at the lock. After an eternal instant of messing with the door she finally unlatched and shoved it aside, almost getting run over as the panda tried to follow her in.

"Taidaima!" Ranma-chan muttered through chattering teeth, glad to be out of the damn rain. Her gi still clung to her curvy figure, making her feel damp, cold, and uncomfortable. After a moment of standing there and dripping water over the front entry, Ranma frowned as she noticed just how dark and quiet everything was. The stairs to her right were quickly lost in black shadows as they reached towards the second floor, and no light spilled from the hall leading into the main part of the house.

Ranma glanced suspiciously at her father but he was too busy shaking himself off to pay any attention to the world around him. Turning back to the house, Ranma flipped the lights on and loudly called out, "Taidaima!" as she undid her black belt and removed her soaked top.

Silence answered them until they heard the sounds of sudden motion from deep in the house. Footfalls reached them as someone ran their way, turning on the lights in the hall as they approached, a wash of colour added to the room as they did so. Behind the lights, Nodoka rounded the corner into the entryway and gazed intently at her newly arrived family.

"Thank heavens," she breathed; after a moment rushing forward to tightly hug her shirtless 'daughter.' Ranma-chan blinked, not too sure what to make of her mother's rather emotional reunion. After an uncomfortable span of time and silence Ranma tried to say something, but her mother suddenly released her and stepped back, hands a flurry of motion as she untied her apron while talking.

"I'm so glad you're home now. We've be worried sick that you wouldn't get back soon. Now just drop those packs... don't worry about the floor getting wet. I'll clean it up later. Is that what you're going to wear? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Come on now Ranma, put your shirt back on; it's cold out there and I wouldn't want you to get a cold when we go out. Where's my umbrella?"

"Go out?" Ranma finally found her voice. She shook her head and tried to calm her mother down. "Ofukuro, look; we've just been out in a storm I wouldn't feel right sending Kuno out in. I'm cold, I'm wet, I'm miserable and all I want right now is a warm bath and a hot meal. Whatever it is we have to go out for, it can wait."

Her mother glanced at her, something about the size of her eyes and the worried expression there giving Ranma pause. Very quietly, Nodoka turned to face her son straight on, apron dangling from her hands. "I'm afraid not Ranma. I don't think this is something you'll want to put off. It's time we got going."

"Why? Where do we have to go?"

"The hospital."

The doors slid aside and the Saotome family stepped out of the elevator, Ranma-kun bringing up the rear. The hallway was painted in stark, clinical white that was almost jarring to the eye. Doctors and nurses in white, as well as the patients in colourless blues only reinforced the spartan environment as they walked their rounds or lay on the wheeled beds placed in the hall. His red Chinese shirt disagreeably loud against the surroundings, Ranma walked down the hall following his parents. Up ahead, they could see a familiar face talking to someone.

Soun looked over as they arrived and nodded to in their direction but didn't take his attention from the doctor speaking to him.

"-so Tendo-san," the doctor continued, not stopping for the new arrivals. "All we can do now is keep up the treatment and observe. Please don't worry; although we can't be sure about it right now, we'll do everything we can."

"Arigato sensei," Soun replied, his voice calm, his words even.

The doctor nodded to him once, then opened up his clipboard and started to walk away. After a moment, Soun turned to great the newcomers. "I see they finally came home."

"Yes. I brought them as soon as I could, Tendo-san."

Calmly, Soun nodded to Nodoka. "Thank you, Oku-san. Saotome-kun, Ranma-kun; I'm so glad you've returned." He reached out and grasped Genma's hand in a solid handshake.

"What's going on Tendo-kun? Is everything alright with Akane-chan?"

Soun gestured with his head to the nearby door labeled '4'. "Akane's in there right now. Her sisters are with her."

"Is she OK? What's wrong with her?" Ranma asked suddenly.

"She's... she's fine right now," Soun replied, turning to look at the young man. Despite his own unease, Ranma was surprised to see just how calm the gaze Soun gave him was. From his mother's concern he'd thought something important was happening, but Ojisan was taking this far too well for it to be anything major. Ranma took a slow, deep breath and let it out through his nose.

Can't be too serious, but she's still in the hospital. What's going on here? After a moment of thought, he decided that this probably was how Soun-ojisan was overreacting to the situation. Rather then crying a river, this time he'd sent his little girl off to the hospital. After all, Akane can survive anything. She's built like a horse... in more ways then one. A small grin crawled its way onto his face at the thought, but quickly disappeared.

"Umm... is it OK if I... went and saw her?"

Soun didn't respond for a moment, then nodded once. "Nabiki and Kasumi are in the room with her, but I don't think they'd mind if you joined them." Ranma nodded in return and moved off to the room. He stepped up to the door and paused for a second; then he rapped his knuckles against the numeral '4'. A muffled "Come in," could be heard, then Ranma pulled the door aside and slipped in.

Still in the hall, Soun turned and started to walk towards a series of chairs placed a little ways away. His forehead creased with concern, Genma caught up to his friend while his wife fell in behind the two men. For a moment Genma struggled to say something.

"Ah...y-you never said what was wrong with her."

"No, I didn't," Soun responded, very quietly and very calmly.

He kept walking.

Nabiki looked up as Ranma uneasily edged himself through the door. His red shirt bright against the austere whiteness of the walls, he glanced around the room, rather then look at the people present just yet.

"Amazing," Nabiki muttered dryly. "Look who finally returns."

Beside her, on the bed, she could just catch sight of her younger sister turning her head to look at the new arrival.

"Ranma!"

After a few heartbeats of looking worried, Ranma broke into a lopsided grin. "Yo, Akane! I'm back."

"Well," Nabiki threw in, more from force of habit then from anything else. "if you hadn't told us I don't think we ever would have guessed."

Both kids looked blank for a moment, then promptly fell into an uncomfortable silence. On the other side of the bed, Kasumi put down the hair brush she'd been holding and stood up. Seeing this, Nabiki got to her feet as well.

"Akane-chan," the eldest sister said quietly as she smiled at the girl in bed, "Nabiki and I are going to go out and get ourselves a snack. We'll be back in a few minutes if that's all right with you."

"Sure oneechan... and thanks." Akane replied, smiling up at her.

Kasumi returned the smile and moved around the bed towards the door, nodding to Ranma as she passed him. Nabiki reached down and patted Akane lightly on the shoulder and gave her an encouraging grin.

Straightening up, she turned and passed by Ranma, giving him a long once over that made him squirm under the scrutiny.

Reaching the door, Kasumi held it open for Nabiki then followed her out. Just before the door shut, she leaded her head back in.

"Don't take too long. You need your rest," she instructed. Smiling once more she let go of the door and it closed behind them, making a quiet but solid and final -thump-.

After the door closed, she didn't move for a moment; her form perfectly still. Then Kasumi took a sharp, sudden breath; one hand went up to her eyes while the other reached into a pocket and started searching. Before the hand could find what it was looking for,Nabiki reached over and handed her sister a handkerchief.

Pausing for only the briefest of moments, Kasumi took the offered piece of cloth and dabbed her eyes lightly. "Thank you Nabiki."

There was a moment of silence, then the other turned away, her jaw set. "Just give it back when you're done, oneechan... I still need it."

Ranma watched as the door closed behind the two sisters. Now alone with Akane, he turned back slowly, his eyes again going over the little room in detail. Lacking windows, the chamber was lit by sharp fluorescent lighting that seemed to amplify the bleakness of the room. A single bed occupied the middle of one wall, and a curtain able to encircle the bed was bunched up in the far corner. There was a small panel of buttons, switches, and microphones above the head of the bed; while beside it stood an IV stand that held a bag of clear liquid slowly dripping down into a tube. The tube snaked its way over to the figure on the bed before disappearing into her forearm.

"So, Akane... I... uh... hear you've been having some trouble since I left." He tried to throw as much cheer as he could into his voice; after all, there was no reason to depress her, was there?

Actually, he was rather shocked at Akane's appearance. Being a tomboy had always meant that she was outside a lot doing distinctly unfeminine things, but he grudgingly admitted that it gave a nice, vibrant colour to her skin and cheeks. Now however, it seemed as if the walls and lights had drained the colours from her features, leaving her as pale and as white as the place around them. The only bright spots on her were her eyes and her dark hair, the latter carefully brushed and shining as if newly washed. What startled him as much as her pale colour was how thin she looked; her face seemed to have sunk in on itself during his absence. He was surprised at just how prominent her cheekbones were in this state.

"It's nothing really," Akane replied, a small smile returning to her pale lips as she looked up at him. Her head was resting against the fluffed up pillows, and she made no effort to rise from them.

"You know what doctors are like: they found something unusual in a check up I had just after you left, and they decided to keep me around to do some tests. It's really a nuisance. I mean, how am I suppose to get in shape for volleyball if I'm stuck in bed?"

"So... what exactly do they think is wrong with you?" he asked as he sat down in the seat Nabiki had vacated.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing," she said, bushing the question aside. "Tell me, how did your training trip go?"

"Heh? Oh that; well, it was OK for the first day or so, but then it just started to rain all the time. It's sure no fun being stuck female out there in the wilds of the countryside."

"It's raining outside?"

"What do ya mean 'is it raining outside?' It's coming down for days! How long they been cooping you up in here anyway?"

Akane glanced down for a moment, the silence broken by the sounds of an intercom paging a doctor.

"It's been... five days I guess."

"Five days?" Ranma repeated, surprised. Stunned, he let the moment drag out into an uncomfortable silence.

"Uh... well... ya know, for being shut away for that long... you're... you're not... looking too bad."

Akane turned her eyes back to him, light sparking from them and the smile returning to her lips.

"I mean," he continued, getting flustered and nervous all of a sudden. "Y-your hair's all... n-nice and washed... a-and you s-seem really... clean..." He shut himself up.

"Kasumi-oneechan gave me a bath today and did my hair for me. It was really nice of her to do that; it's been years since she had to do anything like that, back when we were really young. Right after our..." Akane suddenly cut herself off and licked her lips, her smile disappearing.

"Kasumi-san had to do it for you? Why couldn't you bathe yourself?"

Akane gestured weakly to the IV bag on the pole beside her. "In order not to upset the...tests...they're running on me, I'm not allowed any solid food. I've been on this for the last few days and believe me, it doesn't do anything for keeping your strength up."

The ball now firmly in his court, Ranma struggled for anything to say. He shifted uneasily in his seat, and tried to resist the urge to fidget. "So...when are you suppose to be out of this dump?"

Akane's eyes fell from his face for a moment, then returned to meet his gaze. "I'm sure it'll be soon. They can't keep me here forever."

"Who'd want you anyway," Ranma replied, trying a very small grin in her direction. Fortunately for him, Akane returned it.

"Just you wait, before the week is out, I'll be back in the dojo kicking your butt."

"Ha! As if you ever could!"

"I'm not kidding Ranma, I'll come out of this a whole new person."

"Well that's good, the old one didn't know how to act feminine if her life depended on it." As the words slipped out, Ranma grimaced. Akane's face closed in on itself and she turned away from him.

Struggling to say something, Ranma didn't notice the door had opened until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking around he saw a nurse standing behind him.

"I'm sorry, but it's time for her treatment. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Ranma blinked for a moment and glanced at Akane. "Umm... can't I stay?" he asked the nurse, turning back to face her.

The nurse started to reply, but Akane spoke up first. "Ranma, could you step out for a moment... I... I don't want you to cause any trouble."

"What? Me cause trouble? What are you talking about?"

"Look, would you just please leave?" She asked, a little too abruptly. Hearing that tone caused irritation to rise as an automatic response in him.

"Hey! Don't rush me! I'll get going when I'm good and ready... I don't even see why someone with the stamina and body of an ox would need any kind of treatment."

Akane fairly blazed at this point; rather then go red however, her face lost whatever remaining colour had been it in. A little unnerved at how white she suddenly became, Ranma blinked while hot tears gathered themselves in the corners of Akane's eyes. "Just get out you jerk! And don't bother to come back!"

Ranma stood up and opened his mouth to say something, either in anger or apology, he wasn't sure, but the nurse placed her hand on his shoulder again.

"Saotome-san," she said, quietly but firmly motioning him towards the door. "It's time."

Lying on his back alone in the room he shared with his parents, Ranma stared up at the unlit light fixture above him. Outside the window and through the structure of the building he could hear the clatter of rain as it impacted against the house, broken sometimes by the loud crash of thunder. A second before each roar, a flash of lightning would chase the shadows from the room to leave everything starkly outlined. Then, the light would fade and the darkness would rush back into place to cover everything. His arms stretched out away from him, Ranma listened to the rain, the thunder, and the sound of his own heart. Alone, he watched the game the shadows played with the light; running away to hide in dark corners for a moment, then return to lay claim to their domain once more.

He hadn't come right here after returning from the hospital. First, he'd gone to the dojo and run through a whole set of katas while the rain poured down around that small enclosed shelter. The beating of the rain however had disrupted his normal rhythm, coming down too fast and too tedious to work with. Unable to find the calm center he usually experienced while training, he'd given up the attempt and headed inside for dinner.

Kasumi's dinner had been more then just her usual excellence; it had been exquisite. He could taste the care and effort she'd put into that evening's meal, as every part had been done to perfection. He'd been dreaming of her cooking after eating his father's scraped up left-overs for a week, and she hadn't disappointed him. It was obvious that she'd been working hard since they arrived home in order for the meal to be the best anyone could remember. He supposed it was probably Kasumi's finest work ever; he really hadn't eaten all that much of it.

In fact, no one had really felt like eating. For some reason he couldn't identify even his father hadn't attacked his food with much vigour. He'd just sat there and chewed his food slowly, spending most of his time talking to Nodoka who'd smiled at him sadly in return, eating only a little herself. Kasumi had seen how people weren't eating and apologized for the meal not being any good, but everyone had assured her it was excellent. Nabiki and Soun had sat there quietly, taking only small amounts and continually praising Kasumi's work, even if they didn't have very much of it either.

All the while rain and thunder roared down outside.

Once dinner was over, Ranma had collapsed down on the mats in the living room and lay there as the other family members went about various routine tasks. The two fathers had dragged out their go and set themselves into a game. Tonight they'd been playing quietly and intently, with no sign that either one of them was cheating. Both stared hard at the game board for long moments, as if thinking over their moves in great detail. The only movement from either occurred when they had to reach down and grasp a new counter. Nabiki had opened an economics book and begun to read. She hadn't looked up when Kasumi put a bowel of cookies before her, nor did she take one. After bringing in the plate, Kasumi had settled down into knitting a sweater; beside her, Nodoka commenced to prune a single flower. The sounds of the storm outside had covered the noises from each small group completely. The go pieces being laid down, the pages turning, the click of the knitting needles, or the snap of the scissors were all drummed out by the thundering rain.

Feeling more and more uneasy with the enforced silence of his companions, Ranma had excused himself and headed up for his room. Going up the stairs he hadn't turned on any lights, leaving the whole second story in darkness. With everyone below it should have been quiet enough, but the rain was worse up here and he believed he could hear each and every drop hitting the roof outside, and the thumping of his heart inside.

He knew he'd blown it at the hospital today, it didn't take much knowledge of human nature for him to realize that. But that really wasn't the issue; sure he'd blown it, but he'd screwed up before and hadn't felt the kind of brooding pressure he was feeling now. There was something that was bothering him since he'd learned about the hospital, something gnawing at his insides. He could feel how un-right everything felt, but just couldn't conjure up the conviction to try and work it out for himself. To do so would require him to consider things he wasn't sure he was yet ready to. It hurt to just lay there, but it was a numbness that he could better deal with then the sharp knife of introspection. The others weren't any help either; he could feel their unease, but couldn't just dismiss it concern over the youngest daughter. There was more going on here then what he knew, and comprehension danced mockingly outside his reach.

He didn't know how long he lay there, just listening to the noise of the downpour as it crashed against the roof, but the sound of someone knocking softly at the door to his room startled him. Blinking for a second, he curled his legs in and leaned up into a sitting position.

"Come in."

The door slid aside and a shadow detached itself from the dark hallway to move into the darkness inside the room. Closing the door behind herself, Nabiki stood there, watching Ranma as he looked back at her.

Outside, lightning crackled. For an instant white light bathed the room, outlining everything in grays and blacks, but no colour.

Then the light was gone and shadows restored.

Into the uncomfortable drumming of the rain, Nabiki took a breath. "I guess you couldn't take the family room any more, huh?"

"Uh, it's not that," Ranma lied. In fact he'd come up here to get away from the unfocused unease he'd felt with the others nearby. "I just wanted a little time by myself, that's all. You know, away from. everybody else." He glanced at her suspiciously. "It's not a crime is it?"

Nabiki was silent for a moment, then evenly replied, "Maybe."

Thrown off balance by this, Ranma's jaw worked for a second but nothing came out. Before he could formulate a rejoinder, Nabiki left her place by the door and walked past him to look at the covered window, almost as if she was staring out into the storm thundering around them.

Closing his mouth, Ranma waited for her to say something. As like down below, he felt the same unfocused sense of foreboding lurking. It hadn't necessarily returned with Nabiki's arrival, it had just stalked out of the corner from where it had been staring at him, waiting.

"You know, she'll be alright." Ranma finally said to her back. "Akane's built like a brick; she can survive anything."

Rain was his only answer for a long moment, then Nabiki turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. Lightning flashed just then, but because of her position the side of Nabiki's face that Ranma could see was still left in shadow.

"Do you have any idea why she's there?" Nabiki asked, the thunder rolling in just behind her last word and driving him silent in the crash.

"No," he replied when the crackling died down and the sounds of the rain once again reached their ears. "She never said anything."

Nabiki turned away to face the window again, her hands held together behind her back. Nothing was spoken between them, and the rain filled the void, preventing silence. Finally she turned and faced him head on, her face still lost in the shadows of her short hair despite the lightning that suddenly blazed through the window behind her.

Outside, thunder crashed against the building, driving the noise of the rain away.

Despite having heard every word clearly, Ranma couldn't believe it. "What?" he asked softly.

"I said: right now, Akane's fighting the same thing that killed our mother."

Ranma looked up at the older girl, eyes wide and concerned. "I... I didn't know," he whispered, letting the rain almost swallow the statement. "No one told me," he amended, looking down at the mats. Beneath his legs while thoughts chased themselves through his head. Except for the rain there was silence for a long series of heartbeats, then Ranma returned to look at Nabiki, a hurt expression in his eyes. "S-she didn't tell me."

Nabiki bit her lip and looked down at the mats between them.

"Of course not. It's not something you can easily talk about. Like our mother, we: Akane, Kasumi, and I... we all... we all have a predisposition for getting this. We may get it, or we may not; there's no way of knowing." She swallowed hard for a moment.

"Hearing that you might have it is bad enough, but knowing that your mother died from it isn't something that makes it any easier. It hasn't been easy for the rest of us either. Haven't you noticed how Otosan is taking all this? He's quiet, controlled, calm... dead calm. He's not acting like his normal self; things that would normally set him off aren't having any affect on him. He's been through losing someone he loves once already, and this is how I remember him acting right before Okasan died. And Kasumi: she's the oldest, I think she knew Okasan the best; she certainly knew her longer then either of us. Seeing Akane go through this is just a reminder of what happened before. Didn't you notice how perfect dinner was tonight? That's her way of trying to cope. Otosan's trying to shut it all away... Me?" Nabiki's lips twisted into a parody of a grin at this point. "I'm feeling a little like Akane right now. I'm mad: mad at the world, mad at everyone, mad at nothing, mad at myself. How dare this happen to my little sister... I want to hit something and keep on hitting it till either it breaks or I do."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Ranma asked himself, rather then the girl before him.

"Fear. Pride. Concern over how you'd take it. Mostly fear. Who cares. So she didn't tell you; but now you know. So what are you going to do about it?"

Ranma looked up again and blinked. "Well... ah... there-there's not really a whole lot I can do." He replied, his voice uneven and hesitant. One hand self-consciously wandered over his headful of hair as he spoke. "I mean, she's in the hospital, she's got a lot of doctors to look after her, I guess-"

Although he couldn't see her face, he could feel Nabiki's brows drawing together. The air around her, already heavy with the weight of the storm, grew more threatening as his voice trailed off into nothingness. For a moment, the rain was his only reply.

"Well," she began, her voice dripping venom. "I guess I shouldn't have expected any more from you. You're right, what good could you do here? You're certainly not much of a help to her normally."

He recoiled almost as if struck. Stung, Ranma rose to his feet. "And just what do you expect me to do?! There isn't anything I can do here! If it was anything else, I'd do it! You think I let stuff happen to her?! I'm here when curses or princes or other jerks do something to her, and you don' t think I care?!"

"So then do something," Nabiki instructed harshly. "After all, action seems to be the only thing you're good for."

Ranma looked pained. "I'd like to do something. But this... this..." Biting his tongue, Ranma turned from the girl and walked away a little. Suddenly turning back to face her, a new note crept into his voice.

"This... this is about diseases and medicine and doctors and stuff. That's nothing I'm good at. If it was something I could attack or beat up or anything else I'd do it... but what good can I do here?" He held his powerful hands up before him and stared down at them. "I can fight anyone who tries to do anything, but this isn't something I can stop with my fists. I'm no good at this sort of thing." He looked up at Nabiki helplessly. "I... I don't have anything to offer her right now. For this... she needs medicine and knowledge and stuff; things I don't have. What she needs... I... I'm not capable of giving... to anybody. Even... to..." He shook his head sharply. "I just can't... Right now I'm so... so useless."

Silently Nabiki listened, not making a move as he rambled on.

Finally, the words wouldn't come any more and he fell silent; the rain continuing to punish the building around them. They were both silent in the driving rain, neither moving nor speaking, just facing each other across the dark room for a long time. Gradually, the glare marring Nabiki's features eased into a weary, understanding expression.

"You're right Ranma-kun, this is a battle you can't fight for her. This is something Akane is going to have to do." Moving silently, she stepped over to the doors and slid one aside. Before stepping through however, she turned to face him once again. Very softly she spoke, "Ranma-kun, remember that I said being alone might be a crime?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, there's no reason why she has to face it by herself."

With that, the middle Tendo daughter disappeared into the shadows of the hall. If she slid the door shut behind her,

Ranma didn't notice:darkness claimed the doorway and the rain masked any sound.

Outside, the sky continued to cry down upon the land.

It was very late that evening when the elevator doors opened and Ranma-chan stepped into the stark, bleak halls of the sets of lights were off, leaving lonely pools of bright whiteness to compete against stretches of gray darkness. Most of the patients had been moved back into their rooms, leaving the halls bare and forsaken. Instead, a single nurse and doctor talking at a lonely station brought any sign of life to the place.

The doors of the elevator closing behind her, Ranma-chan straightened her short-skirted nurse's uniform for the last time. Visiting hours long since having been over, Ranma had rooted through her collection of disguises and put on the uniform to sneak inside. So far she'd managed to make it to Akane's floor with no trouble; no one had even bothered to give the red-headed nurse a second look.

Finally arriving, Ranma-chan returned again to a struggle she'd been waging with herself all the way here.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she wondered what she was going to do. Akane might not even be up at this hour, and would she really want to be awakened if she wasn't? And even if she was up, what would Ranma say to her? For all the talk with Nabiki had pushed her, Ranma still didn't have any idea what good her presence here would have.

Up ahead at the station, the nurse looked down at her desk and suddenly stiffened. She grabbed the doctor's arm and pointed at something. The doctor dropped his clipboard on the desk and ran down the hall, throwing a door open and disappearing inside the room.

Slowly, Ranma edged her way down the hall, her legs moving of their own accord but being fought by the rest of her body and mind. She hated to feel this helpless; Akane was fighting a desperate battle, but was fighting it alone. This was something that no matter what Ranma tried, the outcome couldn't be changed and for her, that was just wrong. She'd been brought up to believe that if enough effort was applied, anything could be done. Genma had made it perfectly clear that a man did not just struggle against the inevitable: he altered it, mastered it, bent it to his will. Ranma firmly believed that; she'd based her life around that point, having faith that anything could be changed if she tried hard enough.

But this, what was happening now was something that... no, it didn't scare her. Nothing scared her, except cats, and that involved extenuating circumstances. No, it didn't scare her, it couldn't; men didn't get scared. This was just... beyond her, a part of the world that couldn't be mastered, wouldn't submit to her will. It wasn't right... yes, that was what the problem was... it wasn't right that there were choices that weren't hers to make.

"Nurse! Resuscitation team to room four, stat!" The doctor called from inside the room. Ranma-chan looked up in surprise, she hadn't realized she'd come so far down the hall during he introspection. She was standing beside the nurse's station, listlessly watching the nurse's fingers fly over a switchboard and rapidly request something. Finishing speaking and recradling the phone in the same motion, the nurse bolted from her station and ran to the room the doctor had disappeared into as well. A moment later Ranma-chan shrugged passively and turned her attention away, trying to remember which room Akane had been in.

That's right, room four. Her legs started to carry her forward again, slowly. Room four.

It just wasn't right...

The room the doctor and nurse had just rushed inside. Before she knew what was happening, Ranma-chan was running down the hall as if her life depended on it. Outside, the rain continued unabated.

Ranma-chan lurched through the door frame, fear lighting up her eyes and shaking in her voice. "Akane!"

Inside, she stopped as if she'd crashed into a brick wall. She could see the doctor and nurse hovering over the bed, their motions furious and seemingly chaotic, but with hidden direction behind them.

This didn't matter to Ranma, all she cared about was that these two were blocking her view.

"Akane!"

"We're losing pulse sensei."

"Give me epinephrine, 20 cee cees." Barreling forwards, Ranma was about to shove her way between these two when the nurse stepped aside to rummage on a tray beside the bed. Looking in the space between them, Ranma froze in shock.

An old man, gray and wrinkled lay there. Thin wisps of white hair clung stubbornly to his scalp, and his eyes were closed almost as if he were sleeping. It took a stunned Ranma moments to notice that his chest wasn't rising or falling.

"Where's the damn resuscitation team?" the doctor asked, glancing over his shoulder. Upon doing so he saw a short red-headed nurse just standing there, looking stunned. "You!" he called harshly, causing the young woman to jump in surprise. "Get over here and watch this monitor!"

"B-but I don-"

"Now!" the doctor barked, in no mood for any argument. "Just watch the screen and tell me if anything changes!" He turned his attention from the newcomer as the ward nurse passed a needle into his hands. Peripherally he was aware of the red-head awkwardly moving to stand before the monitor, but he had no attention to waste on her.

He pumped the injection into the man just as a group of men and women pilled in through the doorway with a wheeled cart full of medical equipment. Instantly they fell into their assigned tasks and began to work feverously on the bedridden figure.

"Status!" the doctor barked towards the red-head several times during the next few frantic minutes of work.

"Ah... N-no change," the nurse would reply, sending the collection of people in white off into another frenzy of activity. Despite all they tried, the man on the bed did not respond to anything; finally the doctor broke out the paddles and yelled, "Clear!" Everyone moved away as the doctor placed the two pads down on the man's chest. There was a soft buzz of electricity and the body jerked up, the motion startling the girl who turned from the monitors to watch.

"Any change?" the doctor demanded.

The girl shook herself and tore her eyes away from the body that had just moved as if in pain. Swallowing hard, she looked at the monitor. "A... ah... s-spike for a moment... but it's gone-"

"Again!" cried the doctor, warning the others working around the body. As one, they backed away and another electricity-induced tremor shook the body.

"Status?"

"N-no c-change," came the reply. Looking down at the man laid out before him, the doctor scrunched his features as he thought hard for a moment. Gradually however, the look of determination bled away from his features, leaving him looking drained and resigned. After a moment he slowly placed the paddles down, releasing his grip them. Then he looked around the group of people crowded there and pursed his lips, making eye contact with every member of the team. One by one, each moved a step back from the figure on the bed until the old man was laying there by himself, eyes closed and totally, utterly motionless.

"Time," someone called quietly.

"11:49, pm." another person answered. The doctor stripped off his latex gloves and rubbed his eyes while the team began to quietly and efficiently pack their stuff away. Stepping forward, the ward nurse pulled the blanket from where the workers had thrown it aside to cover the man's limbs and torso.

Running one hand through his hair, the doctor happened to glance over at that red-headed nurse. Now that he was actually paying attention, he was surprised to see how young she was. Since it ended, the girl hadn't moved at all; she was just standing there, looking down at the dead man, trembling slightly. Her expressionate blue eyes were wide and he could see the fear and disbelief in them.

Moving a little closer, he picked up a white cloth lying on a nearby chair. "First time you've been involved in a terminal case?" he asked.

The girl tore her gaze from the body and looked up at him, shock numbing her and preventing any response. Gently, the doctor reached in and placed the cloth over the lifeless man's head, covering the last of his body from sight. "Yeah, well, all I can say is that it gets easier the more of them you do." He tried a reassuring, yet roguish grin. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually."

The ward nurse began to fill out a chart as the resuscitation team filed out of the room. The doctor gave the red-head one more grin before he too started for the exit. "Uh... s-sensei?" the young nurse broached quietly, looking down at the covered body.

"Yes?"

"T-the girl who was in here earlier today... W-what happened to her?"

"Uh... oh, you mean Tendo-san. She was just here until we could free up some beds in a ward closer to her department. She's on third floor, room 39 I believe."

"A-arigato."

"Don't mention it," the doctor replied, flashing another roguish grin at the girl and nodding to the ward nurse.

Walking out the door, he turned on his heel and headed off in the opposite direction from the departing team. Reaching a branch point in the corridor, he turned down the hall until he was out of sight of anyone.

There, his pace slowed and eventually stopped, leaving him perfectly still and in the shadow of an overhanging archway.

The grin no longer on his lip, he slowly curled his fingers into a tight fist. Raising the hand, he silently drove the base of his fist into the cold, hard metal of the archway.

"Damn," he muttered softly, emotion colouring the word.

It was however, heard by no one; swallowed up instead by the darkness that surrounded him and silenced by the rain that echoed even there.

Carefully, Ranma-kun eased the door open and peaked inside.

First thing he'd done after watching that man die had been to get to the nearest washroom and change back into a guy. He didn't care if anyone stopped him to ask what he was doing here, he just didn't want to repeat what had just happened. Although he hadn't had a sheltered life, seeing something like that firsthand had left him shaken. That poor man, surrounded by people who had been quick to respond and apparently well trained, that guy had nevertheless died.

Maybe there were some things that couldn't be changed, couldn't be altered, but no matter how painful they were, just had to be accepted.

Fine. But tonight, Ranma was determined there was something he could do.

This room was slightly larger then the previous one he'd been in; there were two other beds present, both with lumps of sleeping figures on them. As well, facing the beds was a large window that ran the length of the wall. It looked out upon another wing of the hospital, the lights from it shining through the rain to cast a pale glow throughout the room. In the silver light Ranma could make out the figure on the central bed, lying there silently.

Gently he maneuvered the door closed and snuck around the first bed so as not to awake the person sleeping there. Tip-toeing up to the middle bed, his eyes passed over the gaggle of instruments on the wall, then looked down at the slip of a girl there. Her eyes were mostly closed, only the fluttering of the eyelids giving away the fact she wasn't asleep. The bed sheet was drawn up tight around her mid-section, leaving the top part of her colourless blue hospital gown visible. Her bare arms were lying by her sides above the sheets, and he could see the IV tube connected to her left forearm.

For a few moments he just looked down at her, watching the slow rhythm as her chest rose and fell regularly. Bathed in the silver colour of the outside lights, her face seemed to glow ashen when its whiteness was compared to the dark hair framing it. Like before, he was shocked at just how much the features of her face were outlined by her slightly sunken skin. The silver colour of her skin and sharply defined features reminded him of pictures he'd seen of marble statues; like them, she was beautiful.

But it wasn't a beauty he felt any joy in. Lying there pale as a ghost, she was as beautiful as he could ever remember her... but she wasn't cute. It was a cold, austere beauty, something that brought tears to the eyes rather then a smile to the lips. There was no sign of life, no fire in the expression, no show of teeth in either a fearsome snarl or a joyful grin. Nothing that brought life to her figure, showed her soul, or said that a living, breathing person lived here as a little cuteness would imply.

Ranma desperately wanted her to be cute.

On the bed, Akane's eyes fluttered open partway. She looked out towards the window for a time, her face expressionless and blank.

Then, slowly, her head rolled slightly to one side and she looked up at him, not showing surprise that he was here, not showing anything at all.

"Ranma," she whispered, barely audible above the sounds of the rain.

He gulped and sat down on the chair beside her. "H-hi there, Akane... hope I didn't wake you." Her head gently rocked from side to side, her eyes never leaving his.

"No... I'm tired, but I wasn't sleeping..." Her eyes drifted off focus for a moment. "So tired..." Ranma felt his heart thudding; not at her words, but how she spoke them without any change in her expression. Almost as if she didn't have anything left to show them with.

"Ah... well... it is kinda late," he spoke to fill the void her silence had left. "And I know that... ah, visiting hours are over..." His hand hovered over one of hers for a second, fluttering there awkwardly. "But I... I..." He gently let his hand fall to cover her fingers.

"I wanted... to see you. Again."

There was the silence of the rain for a moment as neither of them spoke. Akane's expression didn't change but eventually her lips moved. "You did..." she asked quietly. "...that's nice... thank you Ranma..."

Ranma gulped and tightened his grip on her hand. He couldn't feel her returning the action at all.

"Uh... Akane... I want to tell you that... that Nabiki told me why you're here. Told me about... everything, and all... I'm... I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault," she whispered quietly, forcing him to lean down to hear her over the rain.

"Yeah, well... I still should have been nicer when I saw you earlier today; I just wasn't thinking."

Something that might have been a smile touched one corner of her lip, then faded as if she couldn't find the energy to continue it.

Instead, she said something that was lost in the rain outside.

"What?" Ranma asked, leaning closer, his grip on her hand getting tighter.

"I said... no different from normal." She was silent for a moment then gave a soft swallow. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that."

Ranma almost had to put his ear to her lips to hear that last comment. Glancing around fearfully, he took a difficult deep breath.

He straightened up a little and again looked down at her.

"Umm... Akane? I'm having a little trouble hearing you, so I'd... like to try something...if that's all right with you."

After a moment her lips moved; Ranma leaned down as she repeated it. "OK... just watch out... for my dance partner..."

Ranma pulled back and looked at her in confusion, but she was displaying another ghost of a smile as her eyes fixed on her IV stand. Ranma followed her eyes and smiled slightly in recognition. "OK, I'll be careful." Taking his hand from hers, he slid one behind her head to cradle it, and the other reached over to slip around her narrow waist. Bringing the blanket along with her, Ranma eased Akane's torso up from the bed, being careful not to pull or pinch the IV tube. He moved her till she was resting against him; her head rolled loosely against his shoulder and her body lightly pressed against his. Wrapping her snugly in his arms, he shifted her into a comfortable position.

"I-is this fine with you?" he asked, feeling his face get warm.

He could feel her chest against his rise and fall with her slow breathing, and the places across his body where her light weight pressed against him.

"It's nice..." she breathed, her words carrying to his ear.

Ranma gulped again; he'd held Akane before, and he knew how much she was suppose to weigh. He'd always thought it had been too much, and he'd spent a lot of time bugging her about it. This time however he was shocked at how light she was: he could barely feel her as she leaned against him. Worse, he could feel the beating of her heart, not pounding uncontrollably like his, but thumping out a slow, weak rhythm all its own.

Ranma breathed deeply, trying to match the slow rhythm of her breaths; but unable to as his body rebelled against the sluggish inhalation. Gently, he moved his upper hand into the soft strands of her short hair. All they did for long moments was listen to the sounds of the rain coming down outside, and the thunder crashing in the distance.

Eventually, Akane took a deep breath. "Ranma," she saidquietly.

"Yes?" He answered. For a moment more she was silent.

"I'm scared..."

Ranma felt his jaw start to shake. Clenching his teeth together, he didn't speak for a moment. "I-its g-going to be fine," he soothed, fighting the waver in his voice. "You're strong, why would you let anything like this slow you down?"

For several moments, all that reached his ear was the warm air of her soft breath. "My mother couldn't fight this... how can I? I'm all alone here... I'm scared that there's nothing I can do... that I don't have any control over this... that I can't do... that... that... oh Ranma..." It seemed as if that small speech had drained the remaining strength out of her and she sagged against him even more.

"...I'm so tired... so tired..."

His hand now starting to gently stroke her hair, Ranma felt the unusual condition of his eyes beginning to burn. He wasted no time on that, but instead gently soothed her. "You don't think there's anything you can do? W-what about me? All I can do is sit here and... and hold you while you do all the work. You always were selfish."

"I'm sorry..."

"No Akane, I'm sorry. Sorry for not paying attention to you earlier, sorry for not trying to get along with you before, sorry for... well, sorry for just about every stupid, dumbass thing I've ever done."

She didn't reply; alarmed, Ranma looked over at her face. Her head was limp and her eyes were fluttering, almost closed as she lay against him. "Akane!" Ranma said a little loudly, starting to rock their bodies back and forth gently. He could feel her heart slowing, or maybe it just was his thumping more wildly; he didn't know, but he was scared.

"Ran... ma..." she breathed, "...promise... me..."

"Anything Akane, anything!"

"Promise me... you'll always... always look after me... like this... if you do... I... won't be... scared..."

"Yes Akane! Yes!" he said forcefully, not noticing the tears running down his cheeks. "I'll be here for you, but you've got to be here for me as well!"

"...I'm... so glad... so... tired..." With effort, a small, heartfelt smile appeared on her face while a single tear rolled from her left eye, bringing life to the sterile beauty that had been there a moment before.

"Akane!"

A single tear not lost in the torrent of water already falling.

"...so tired... so..."

With that, Akane's eyes closed completely.

Walking up the stairs in the house, Genma was dressed in his best suit, an unreadable expression on his face. Behind him his wife followed him up, also clothed in her finest. Together, the two slowly walked the short distance to their room and paused. Genma raised a hand and knocked for a moment.

No one answered.

"Ranma," Nodoka called out quietly. "Ranma honey, we're coming in." She slowly slid the door aside and leaned to look inside. Sitting there with his back against the far wall, Ranma was dressedin a fine, dark suit. He was cross-legged and staring down at the floor before him, a deep, troublesome look clouding his features.

Upon his parents entry, Ranma didn't move his head, but did glance up at them through his thick forest of black hair. "I-is it... is it..." he asked uncomfortably.

"It's time," his mother said quietly. Ranma gulped and awkwardly pushed himself to his feet. He looked around uneasily and started to tug compulsively on the lapel of his dark jacket.

"I... I'm not really sure I can do this," he admitted. "I mean, to go through with this... I just... I... I don't want to do this!" he suddenly shouted. Hearing this outburst, Genma's features, which had been carefully controlled, turned very black.

"Ranma! How can you say that?! After everything they've done for you, everything we've been through, you're now trying to say that you don't want to go down there and show yourself?! What kind of son have I raised?! You will go down there, you will show the proper respect and you will behave yourself! Do I make myself clear?!"

"You can't force me, Oyaji!" Ranma shot back angrily. "If I do go down, it's not because of you, or them, it's because... it's because of me! It's because I want to go! Can't you understand that?! What if I don't want to go!?"

"Ranma," Genma threatened, stepping forwards. "As a man, you'll go down there and-" He was stopped as Nodoka gently placed one hand on her husband's shoulder and looked at him as he turned to face her. After a moment of contesting wills, Genma swallowed once and relaxed his stance, but not his angry look. Nodoka stepped towards her son and looked at the man before her.

"Ranma, you're absolutely right. You needn't explain yourself to us. If you don't want to go down for the service, we can't force you."

"Dear!" Genma wailed painfully. Nodoka turned to give him a glare that shut him up. Ranma sighed in response but didn't seem to relax any.

"However," she continued. "if you don't go down, there is someone you'll have to explain your reasoning to." She taped his chest just above his heart; Ranma looked chagrined. He seemed to wage a short internal war with himself, then lowered his head in defeat and nodded.

Nodoka returned his nod, her lower lip starting to quiver a bit.

Seeing this, Ranma paused for a second then moved forwards and wrapped her into a hug. She returned it as tears started to roll down her smooth cheeks. After a moment, she released her boy and moved off to one side to try and get herself together. Ranma walked towards the door, but paused beside his father who'd lost the look of anger he'd just worn.

Struggling for a moment, Ranma swallowed once and began to speak. "Look... Oyaji," he began gruffly. "I know I haven't agreed with much you've done in my life... but I just wanted to say without you I... I never would have m-met..." Ranma scuffed his feet a bit, then held out his hand. "T-thanks."

Genma looked down at the offering, then into his son's eyes.

Firmly he clasped the hand and returned a solid shake. Another moment of silence followed, then Ranma turned to leave the room.

Once he'd left, Genma reached up to wipe away a tear, then went to collect his wife.

"Now dear," he said quietly, patting her shoulder. "Be strong. You promised you wouldn't break down."

Nodoka wiped the last of her tears away and nodded to her husband. With him helping her along, they left the room and went downstairs. Going out the side door, they walked down the short stone path to the dojo steps. Climbing up, they entered through the sliding door and looked upon the interior. The place was packed with friends and acquaintances, all dressed in their finest. People they'd only heard about were there, along with the regulars they'd come to know so well. Standing off by himself, Ranma still looked uneasy, unable to meet anyone's gaze. In the crowd itself, there were many sounds of sniffling and here and there the sounds of a broken sob could be heard.

Seeing all this, Nodoka's eyes instantly watered up again and she grabbed her husband's shoulder in one hand as she reached for a handkerchief with the other. While she choked back sobs, Genma gave her a stern, yet tender glance.

"You promised."

"Yes I know," Nodoka said, wiping her eyes. "But I can't help myself." Taking a big sniff, she turned to her husband face on and couldn't help but break out into a big grin.

"I always cry at weddings."

"It's all your fault."

"My fault?" Ranma repeated, careful not to look down at the girl he was holding in his arms as they moved across the dojo's floor to the music. "How is it my fault that Nabiki conned the family's way into the hospital after they found out I left the house? How is it my fault the staff left the intercom system for your bed on? Am I to blame that the whole thing was pumped into the rest of the hospital across the P.A. system, or that your dad was taping it all along?" He finished more then a little annoyed; five hundred witnesses listening in on what had been their supposedly private conversation had pretty much sealed their fate.

"What possessed you to say such things anyway?"

"I thought you were dying! Can't a guy be nice to someone who's about to croak? You certainly didn't seem very alive when I got there."

"Ranma, I hadn't slept in four days! Between the drugs they were running through me as a precaution and worry about whether I actually had the condition or not, my system was really out of whack; sleep just wouldn't come. Finally, after four days of insomnia you show up and start saying these nice things that made me feel all safe and warm...of course I fell asleep in your arms!"

A few more bars of music flowed over them and whatever anger had coloured Akane's words faded from her soul. Lying her head against his chest as they moved, she quietly asked, "Is that the only reason?"

"What?" he asked, still not looking at her; finding the angry glares or sad gazes of others in the crowd easier to deal with.

"You though I was dying...was that the only reason you said those things to me?" Ranma didn't respond, instead keeping his eyes firmly on others and his mouth shut.

"Ranma... look at me."

He fought it; he knew what would happen if he looked at her. It had happened before, he vowed not to let it happen again. Not now. This was something he had control over. "Ranma," she repeated.

Against his will, his eyes snapped center and his head stiffly leaned down to look.

Like before, he couldn't help himself. Seeing her there, the rich, healthy glow to her pink skin, the dark brown to her large eyes and the deep blue of her hair all framed by the soft white of her wedding dress. His throat closed up and he unconsciously tightened his grip on her body. Her face, so alive, so full of energy and inquisitiveness looked back up at him.

As before, he experienced an instant of the fear he'd felt as he held her in the hospital room. It was gone in a flash, leaving him only with a renewed sense of how precious what he was now holding was.

"No," he said, his voice sounding throaty and emotion filled even to him. "I didn't say those things to you just because I thought you were leaving. I... I meant it. Everything."

More colour touched Akane's cheeks as she heard this, and she turned to lay her head against his chest once more. Free from looking at her, Ranma jerked his gaze away to something else. Damn.

It had happened again, just like last time. Seeing her so left Ranma not at all sure what would pop out of his mouth. Last time it was the words, "I do."

"I'm... I'm glad," she said quietly, hugging him a little tighter. After another moment of gentle swaying to the music, she timidly asked, "So... so now what?"

Ranma didn't reply for a time, then muttered quietly, "Now we get on with out lives. Together."

"You think we can?"

Without even looking at her, surprising words popped out of his mouth. "I know we can... we just have to accept it."

Author's Notes:

Just so you know, I wrote this thing grinning inanely the whole while. My way of dealing with too many death fics on the net. For those who believe otherwise: I didn't 'cop out' when I wrote this, I'd always planned to have that twist at the end to show that I can write a story as bleak and as depressing as anyone, yet still remain true to my kind of ideal. (Kinda like holding a baseball bat as you approach someone, then sicking your pet alligator on them instead.)

Just for your information: one way of pronouncing '4' in Japanese is 'shi'; that is also a word for death. Thus, Akane is in room 4 but is moved out and lives, the man who is in that room dies. I heard somewhere that some Japanese hospitals don't have rooms numbered 4, but I could be wrong; anyway, it was good for the story. No one knows what Mrs. Tendo died of (Takahashi never said), so I just took it as something that she was pre-disposed to get and passed that trait down to her daughters.

If any real medical people read this, please don't cut into me for the scene of the man dying and the actions of the staff. I don't know about medicine and I don't watch shows like ER or St. Elsewhere, so I'm not up on proper medical practices. The scene was based on what I remember from the hospital shows I have seen. As well, I've actually spent time in the hospital myself and have quite a bit of respect for health care professionals. (My mom's a nurse and she'd kill me if I didn't.) While I do agree the hospital environment is kind of sterile and heartless, my use of scenery for the hospital was designed to be especially harsh so as to fit the mood I was creating.

Mail to:

ddemaine . (my university account, may not
last)
or
greywolf . (Lee's account and Horde mail bag)

all Horde O' Hentai fics can be picked up from

~greywolf/

Darren Demaine
Chairman of the Horde
Horde O' Hentai Productions

Note from contributor/proofreader:

I had second thoughts about editing the formatting, it's original formatting was made for old school websites, I didn't want to tamper the story in any way, but I decided t go for it: After all, so long as I have the original copy of the fic and I didn't alter any words (except misspellings), I guess it's ok.

If you want more old school ranma fics just look for them in my profile page, there's also a community in my page where I collected cool ranma fics.

Hey, If you know other cool authors from the ffml days of ranma, don't hesitate to recommend them to me :)

Please leave a review too (same goes for the other ranma fics I posted) I want to know what other people think of these timeless fics :)