Memory of Rain and Lightning Chapter Fourteen – nihogoneko - rated T (just in case)

Akane fanfic - I'll Remember; Lost Memory and Lightening (I call it an Akane fanfic because it revolves around Akane Tendo, mainly.)

Summary: A girl wakes up in a forest clearing, with no idea who she is. She walks to the nearest town, and no one recognizes her. But she stays there and starts to build a life there as she searches for herself. Now a boy has appeared, claiming to know her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Akane, Ranma, or any of the other Rumiko Takahashi characters from Ranma 1/2, nor do I own the storyline. Sadly, I'm just not that good.

to my readers: Again, I am sorry that I haven't updated in awhile. I didn't realize that I was so behind in this fanfiction. Merry Belated Christmas, Happy New Year, and anything else I may have forgotten.

Main Character List: Rain (Akane, who has lost her memory and is trying to regain it), Mrs. Smithy (the old woman who has given Akane a place to stay), Ranma (Akane's fiancé who came looking for her and is trying to watch out for her and help her regain her memories), Shampoo, Ukyo and Ryoga (three mysterious people who seem to know Ranma and Rain. Ukyo has tricked Rain into thinking that she is Ranma's only fiancée. We discover that there may be more to Rain's amnesia than meets the eye.)

Now, on with the story...

-14-

Chapter Fourteen: The Girl Who Had Lost Her Past Walks On

It had all been a dream.

That was the first thing that Rain thought as she woke up. A dream where she was chasing after Ranma, brandishing a wooden sword as he laughed, his smile wide, teasing her. She swung at him multiple times, missing each shot as he dodged out of the way. But his teasing never stopped. And although she was apparently mad at him in the dream, it left a smile on her lips upon waking, as if such a thing was a good memory.

The twinge that shot through her temples brought a hand up to her head, and her eyes closed briefly once more. Why had she been getting so many headaches recently? Could she have some sort of injury that she didn't know about, or a condition that she didn't remember?

Rain opened her eyes slowly as the pain passed, her hand coming down to rest on the bedspread on her lap. She felt so tired for some reason. Maybe some food would help.

Sighing, she got out of her bed. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, but it felt like a new day. Possibly morning.

As she walked down to what she presumed was breakfast, Rain could feel the gazes of all of the people in the house. Trying to ignore them, she sat down at an empty seat at the table and thanked Mrs. Smithy as the old woman placed some food in front of her.

"How are you feeling?", Ranma asked, his expression concerned but obviously trying to hide two other girls looked at her but neither was reassuring. Ukyo seemed to be paying more attention to Ranma, and Shampoo was obviously still angry at her. Although why, at the moment, she didn't know.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired." She gave a wan smile. "Yesterday must have been a bit too much for me".

The Amazonist snorted but kept her opinions to herself.

As for the boy, Ryoga, he was mysteriously absent.

-Ukyo-

She pushed her food around on her plate, more used to the Japanese-style dishes that she ate at home and prepared for herself than this Western stuff. Ukyo was tired of more than just the food, though. She felt ready to go home; she missed her grill, her job, and her customers.

I can't wait to get out of here and bring Ranma-honey back. I still don't understand why he's bothering to waste all this time on Akane. She's still obviously doesn't remember a thing.

"Would you like some more eggs, my dear", Mrs. Smithy asked, interrupting the okonomiyaki chef's thoughts. Ukyo blinked, sorting her emotions out quickly before pasting on a smile.

"No thanks. I'm set."

As the older woman walked away, Ukyo spared a glance in the direction of her purple-haired adversary, her thoughts continuing.

Although getting rid of this extra baggage definitely wouldn't hurt things either.

She turned her attention back to Ranma-honey and the lost cause, her mind busy at work thinking of ways to get Shampoo out of the house and away from Ranma. Although she loved him, Ukyo knew that being serious and caring towards others wasn't one of her fiance's strongest points. He rarely focused on anything but martial arts. Having him watch over Akane like this was almost unbearable.

Again Ukyo was drawn out of her thoughts, this time by the sounds of the breakfast-ware being collected.

"How are you feeling? Any better?", Ranma asked Akane. When the short-haired girl nodded the pigtailed martial artist gave her a quick but warm smile that had Ukyo clenching her teeth in jealousy.

Or maybe she should forget about Shampoo for a while and get rid of the more immediate threat to her future happiness first.

-Rain/Akane-

"Would you be up for a little exercise?"

Rain nodded her head at Ranma's suggestion, surprised to find that the idea of exercise sounded perfect to her. Rain followed the group who, at Ranma's urgings, went out to the back of the house. He had her sit down on the back porch and gestured to Ukyo to follow him a short distance away. Confused, Rain watched him from her designated seat. Weren't they going to exercise? There wasn't much that she could do sitting here.

Looking back at her, Ranma gave a shy smile.

"I know that you still don't have your memory back, but I was thinking that maybe getting you into your old routine might help. Ukyo and I are going to show you a few basic martial arts moves so that you can practice. You may not remember it but you weren't half bad at it when I met you for the first time a few years ago".

With that, he turned to the girl in front of him and proceeded to demonstrate a couple of basic maneuvers, blocks, and grabs - none of which Ukyo needed any urging or instruction to follow.

Rain was fascinated by their fluidity. She had seen some of this last night, although her memory of the whole thing was slightly fuzzy. To think that she might once have been able to do all this and more still surprised her, but then again, she hadn't known that she would be able to stop that thief who took Mrs. Smithy's purse awhile back either. It had all been instinct. Maybe any martial arts she knew was instinctual too - muscle memory, even though it wasn't something she actually remembered doing.

This was still in her mind when, after a few minutes of demonstration, Ranma gestured to her and had Ukyo step away. And so, when she took position in front of him and he grabbed her wrist, Rain didn't think, she just reacted. In a second, her friends' hold was broken on her and she was out of reach in a stance she didn't remember taking.

Rain felt slightly breathless from shock and awe, the thrill of what she had just done coursing through her. Muscle memory.

Ranma's expression was a bit surprised, but a quick, sly grin replaced it almost instantly, making him look boyish. Handsome. Happy.

"Very good", he said, this time taking a stance of his own, "Let's try that again".

To that, Rain answered with a smile.

They practiced a couple more grabs, blocks, and maneuvers, and although Rain didn't know what she was doing, her body apparently had no trouble keeping up.

Ranma's smile, which had gotten wider with each technique, was now a broad grin. Still in a stance, he gave her a cheeky look and asked,

"Ready to step it up a level?"

She nodded, feeling a strange rush of excitement at his words, and took her stance again, this time somewhat consciously. Almost before she could blink, Ranma was right in front of her, and one of his fists was heading towards her torso. She didn't think, but allowed her body to take over, and Rain found herself dodging, evading, blocking, and most importantly keeping up with every move he made.

She wanted to analyze the situation, but was afraid that if she thought too much, she'd lose her ability to keep pace with Ranma.

In a second of pure joy at the strange freedom she felt sparring with her friend, Rain felt a small tingle, like electricity, spread from her chest and out through her body, giving her energy, fueling her excitement. What a rush. It was like she was getting energy from expending it. The more they moved, the more excited she became. She could keep up with him. She could do it. She could do martial arts.

She was so excited that she didn't even notice that something was off until one of her punches grazed by Ranma and he yelped. Startled, the two paused mid-motion.

"What was that?" Ranma asked her, his hand on where she had brushed him.

"What was what?" was her reply, and Rain lowered her stance, confused.

"You didn't feel that shock?" Ranma asked, disbelief in his voice.

Rain slowly shook her head.

"No."

She began to squirm under his stare, uncomfortable with the attention he was suddenly giving her - different from how he had been looking at her during their sparring session. The scrutiny felt odd, and made her all too aware of his eyes on her.

After a bit, he spoke.

"Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Your hand."

The pigtailed martial artist reached out to her, his focus still holding her gaze. His voice was even and calm, his stance non-threatening.

She hesitated. but saw no real reason to deny him. Her heart was racing for some strange reason. Very fast. She could actually feel the sensation in her chest.

Slowly, she extended her own hand - the same one that had grazed him, and the one she assumed he wanted.

What happened next shocked them both, and changed their lives, from that moment on, forever.

As their palms grew closer together, a small streak of electricity shot from Rain's hand to Ranma's, 3 inches away from hers. Both martial artist's jumped in surprise, but Ranma recovered quickly. As Rain watched, he set his gaze, focused intently on their hands, and moved his palm closer.

Sparks flew between their palms as he slowly shortened the distance. Golden threads raced over her skin, but caused no more than a slight tingling sensation. She glanced at her friend, wondering if he felt it the same way she did, but his face, so serious, so focused, showed no indication that he even noticed what was going on past their palms.

-Ranma-

At an inch away from her hand, Ranma stopped. And the sight was definitely something.

Their hands were practically glowing from the electricity between them, the amount of little traveling sparks radiating light, intense and numerous.

"Wow." Rain breathed in awe. Ranma looked up at her then, and the expression on her face, the amazement highlighted by the glow, constricted something in his chest. In that moment, he knew that this event, no matter how unexpected and no matter its consequences, it wouldn't change his need to help her, or change how he saw her. The look on her face was pure wonder, yes, but also pure Akane. Akane, even with her memory gone, was still Akane. And with this new development, he'd have to keep a closer eye on her. Not just because learning to control any kind of energy was difficult at first (he remembered his experience with the Shi Shi Hokodon vividly), but also, he thought, glancing back at the others, because of the problems it could cause by the others learning she had a new skill.

Though in retrospect, glancing at the others was probably not the best thing Ranma could have done in that moment.

-Shampoo-

"What two doing and no fight?" the Amazon declared, having seen Arien glance at her, spiking her curiosity. She advanced towards them, hands on her hips as she took a determined stance. She didn't like how close they were standing. Much too close. And almost hold hands. Arien should only hold hand with Shampoo, not Kitchen-Wrecker! It was law. They were married!

In a show of displeasure at their position, the Amazoness grabbed Stupid Girl to pull her away, only to be startled by a jolt of energy that forced her to immediately break contact and step back.

Shampoo heard the sound of the other obstacle, Ukyo coming closer, but she was too focused on what had just happened, too stunned by the impudence of such an attack.

The shock had definitely come from Kitchen-Wrecker, and so, in her eyes, it was a challenge. A challenge against her.

With a low growl at the idea of such a thing, Shampoo struck out with her fist. The girl saw it, her eyes wide.

Good. Shampoo should strike obstacle for disrespect and show who better.

-Rain/Akane-

After that first dodge, Rain quickly found herself in another situation similar to the sparring match she had with Ranma mere minutes ago. Except this one held a much greater risk to her well-being. Rain could sense that immediately. This girl did not like her, and apparently didn't like her even when she knew who the Amazoness was. The idea would have made Rain curious if she wasn't already so focused on not getting hurt.

Thankfully, whatever instinctive skill she seemed to possess was helping her avoid and evade the attacks. Although Shampoo was strong and quick, Rain quickly discovered that she had a somewhat predictable pattern - she always aimed for her most vulnerable points, trying to do the most damage she could. Rain could see how the Amazoness would choose that style, but it still lead to an opening, of sorts.

Thinking back to the sparks that had flown between her and Ranma, Rain made a conscious effort to try to feel that tingling in her body, careful to balance that inner concentration with evading Shampoo's attacks. There'd be no point to trying what she was about to do if she got knocked out. And, she felt, once the Amazoness got a hold of the upper hand, she'd be ruthless in following up.

Rain zeroed in on the sensation spreading throughout her body, and in an effort to gain more space, attempted to push it towards her opponent. What occurred afterwards, though, was completely out of her control.

Instead of racing along her arm and out through her hand as she had expected, Rain felt the power bloom in her center, radiating out. Suddenly, Shampoo was thrown back, falling to the ground on her butt.

With an angry look on her face, the Amazoness got up, charging at her again. But even through the sparks that now surrounded her, Rain could see that it was like the girl was hitting a wall. Her curiosity overpowering her sense of preservation and the strange but confident feeling that Shampoo couldn't touch her in that moment, Rain turned in a slow circle, only to discover that it seemed she had somehow enclosed herself in what appeared to be an electric circle.

She turned back to the Amazon, who was still frantically trying to get through her accidental barrier. But… something wasn't right? Rain rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out of the view from outside her circle had looked that blurry before. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but when she opened her eyes again, instead of fixing the problem, it seemed as if what she saw had gotten even blurrier.

Putting her hands over her eyes, Rain put a conscious effort into trying to keep her shield up, not wanting to have it drop while Shampoo was so close and intent on attacking her. What she didn't realize, however, was that she unconsciously poured more energy into said circle, increasing its boundaries threefold, pushing Shampoo back even further.

Headaches began to overtake her, and soon Rain was thinking hard, trying to concentrate on keeping the shield up while not realizing that she was again increasing its size, with it feeding off her fear of letting Shampoo get too close and the strain of her untrained concentration on keeping energy into the circle's form.

The amount of energy that she expended caught up with her in a flash, and Rain collapsed suddenly, her vision going black as she fell to the ground.

-Ranma-

Having watched from the sidelines in a combination of fascination to see Akane holding her own against Shampoo and uneasiness in knowing that there had been no opening to grab Shampoo and keep her away from the short-haired martial artist, Ranma barely snapped out of his stunned stupor in time to grab that exact Amazoness from charging Akane after the girl fell to the ground.

"Arien let Shampoo go! Kill obstacle!" the purple-haired girl snarled, trying her best to break free. But Ranma was determined, and he wasn't allowing her the opening.

"Quit it, Shampoo."

The tone in his voice must have reached some part of her brain, because she looked up at him, and the expression on his face - whatever that must have been, stilled her.

When Ranma felt sure that she wasn't going to do anything, he let her go and began walking towards Akane. Gently, he leaned by her side and visually checked for signs that she was still breathing, his breath caught in his throat in worry.

-Ukyo-

The chef scowled as she watched Akane get picked up by Ranma and carried - princess style!, back into their temporary dwellings. She could see that she needed to drive a huge wedge between the two of them before anything else happened. Ranma-honey needed to back off the short-haired mess and return to Nerima soon. It was obvious that Akane had become more trouble than she was worth. Perhaps if she could actually control that power without blacking out, Ukyo might consider her a threat. But Akane was still Akane, memory or no. The girl was clumsy, and she was a poor martial artist. The fact that she was only able to keep up with that hussy was proof enough. She had only been able to keep up with her Ranma-honey because he had let her.

Speaking of the devil, the okinomiyaki chef turned her attention towards the Amazoness, unable to watch the mushy-looking scene between Ranma and Akane anymore. She'd let it slide for now, only because Ranma had seemed upset enough to shut Shampoo up with a look. But when Akane woke again, Ukyo was determined to leave no reasonable doubt that she was the one true fiancee.

-Rain/Akane-

She woke up in her bed once again, this time with all of her memories of the past few hours intact. Wondering if she hadn't in fact mixed dream with reality, Rain slowly brought up her right hand and felt for that spark inside of her.

Almost instantly, her body temperature rose, and electricity danced lightly along her body. This time, Rain made a conscious effort to push that energy down her arm, until only her hand was bright and tingling. Again, she concentrated, this time willing the spark to her other hand.

She smiled, as the electric energy obeyed.

How could she have forgotten something as awesome as this?

End chapter.