I know, the ending's weak, but I gotta stop writing this before it becomes
too much like my life (minus the blasts from nowhere. :)
Please, more comments...the ones I got last time were extremely helpful.
=======================================
    Ranma 1/2: A Look In The Mirror
=======================================

a Fan-Fiction piece
based on and inspired by characters owned by Rumiko Takahashi.

written by Kevin Eav

     Ranma sighed.  <*Why* couldn't he do it?>  He'd wanted to...for all 
this time.  But everytime he tried, something went wrong.>  It went on like 
this, every day, always the same, making Ranma want to just run away for 
a while, leave everything behind, at least until he could sort things out 
for himself.  <But I can't.  It's not the way I was brought up...at least I 
can say that my dad taught me that...even if he won't, or can't, practice 
his advice.> 

[Flashback: We see a much younger Ranma sitting crosslegged in front of his 
father, listening intently to his lecture.]<"Never back down, son," his 
father said.  "If you believe that you can do anything, it's 
more than likely that you can.  And if you give up, just because you 
can't do it within a few tries, then you'll never learn anything
beyond the most basic things."  "Hai!" "That's my son....">

     Ranma sighed again. "He used to be so good.  Focused, strong.  What 
happened?" he muttered as he climbed off the roof of the Tendo Dojo, 
taking care with the bruised ribs and cheek that Akane had given him 
after his last screwed-up attempt to tell Akane the truth. <Maybe I 
should trying thinking about what I'm going to say before I say it...>

     Akane fumed.  <That baka.  Always doing something to get me riled up.>
She mused about his latest perversion.  <What *was* he trying to do 
anyway?  And why to P-Chan? The way he treats P-Chan, you'd think it was 
him 'n Ryoga, all the time.>  She looked down at P-Chan, sitting on her 
desk. "Aw, poor little P-Chan, lemme kiss it and make it better." She 
giggled.   Ranma, walking by her room on the way to his room, sighed as he 
heard her speak.  <I just wish she'd treat me like that sometimes...I 
don't know.  Maybe I should talk to Kasumi about it.>  He sighed, and 
walked to his room, laying down on his mattress, looking
up at the ceiling, his thoughts in turmoil.

     "Dinner time, everybody!" Kasumi called from the kitchen, eliciting 
happy sounds of people rushing to the table.
 
     "Ranma!  Where'd you get that bruise?" asked Kasumi, slightly 
concerned and horrified overtones coming through in her voice.  Akane 
started slightly, and had an apprehensive look in her eyes.  Ranma starts 
to open his mouth, glances at Akane, and closes it without a word. 
He thinks for a bit, then says "I slipped and fell...hit my cheek on a rock," 
and goes on eating. Akane stares at him for a bit. <Why didn't he take 
the opportunity?  What's he got up his sleeve?>  

     "Ranma, can I speak to you for a bit?"  

     "Uhhh...sure, Akane."  They go into the backyard.

     "Ranma, why didn't you yell at me for hitting you?"  
     
     "Huh? Oh...I...just...didn't feel like it." 

     "Hmm....what are you hiding?"  
     
     "I...I'm not hiding nothing!"  

     "Uh-huh, sure."  

     "Hey! I just...." 

     "You just what?" quietly inquired Akane.  

     "I..I'm just...I'm just tired of fighting.  That's all I ever do, it 
seems, nowadays.  Fighting with Kuno, with Ryoga, with Ukyo, with Shampoo, 
with Mousse, with you.  And I'm tired.  Every day, I wake up knowing 
that the same stuff is going to happen, no matter what I do."  

     "Ranma..." whispers Akane.  

     "Look.  I've been meaning to say something to you for a long time."  

     "Ranma?"  

     "Shh...please, just let me say this, and then I need to leave for a 
bit."  

     "Ok..what did you want to say to me?"  

     "Akane...I...I...I l..lo...<Dammit!> Akane, I...lo--.." Ranma looked
frustrated for a second, then quietly said "I'm sorry, but this just isn't
the right time."  

     "Ranma?" replied a *very* confused Akane.

     "I..I'll find some way to tell you what I need to.  I--I've got to go 
and think for a while."  As Ranma turned to go, a blast struck him from 
above, knocking him into unconsciousness.  The last thing he heard was 
Akane screaming his name.  Genma and Kasumi rushed out at her scream, and
came upon the two of them. "He was hit by something...I think he needs Dr.
Tofu..."  Kasumi nodded, as did Genma.  Kasumi said "Should I come with you,
Akane?"  Genma and Akane looked at each other and said, in unison, "Perhaps
it would be better if you stayed and let the others know what has happened."
"Very well, go to Dr. Tofu now, Akane!"  "Ok...we'll be back shortly."
With that, they took off for Tofu's clinic.

     Ranma woke up sore, confused, and aware that he was lying on the
cold ground.  He got up and started wandering around, but quickly realized
that there wasn't anywhere to go, not that he could see in the fog.
He sat down and waited, until he got bored.  Finally, he shouted "Where the
hell am I???", not really expecting a response.  He was quite...surprised,
to say the least, to hear his own voice, though somewhat deeper, heavier,
answer "You are deep within the recesses of your mind, and it is here that
you must face certain truths."  Ranma, of course, shouted "Who are you?"  
The voice responded "Look in the mirror, and you will see."  Ranma looked
around, saw a mirror appear, and went to stand in front of it.  To his 
amazement, the mirror's image stepped out, changing to look slightly older,
sadder.  Ranma took a couple of steps back.  "Whoa-"

     Ranma-m (mirror,) walked up to Ranma and said, quite calmly, "So. 
*smack*.  When *smack* are you *smack* going to tell *smack* Akane *smack*
about how..*Smack* You...*SMack* FEEL???? *SMACK*"

     "Ow! Hey, quit it!  I'll tell Akane when I'm good and ready for it."

     "Ohhhh, sure, and when'll that be?  The next ice age?"

     "Ahhh...leave off, I just don't know how to tell her, or if I even 
should."

     "Well....looks like you'll take some convincing.  Ok. Here it is.
If you don't tell Akane that you love her, and soon, then terrible things 
will happen."  Ranma stared at Ranma-m, uncomprehendingly.

     "Umm...whaddya mean?"
     
     "Are you sure that you are prepared for this?  You may not like what 
you see." replied Ranma-m.

     "Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's just get this over with so I can go 
back to living my own life."  

     "Very well.  Look into the mirror, and see."

     Ranma stared into the mirror, and the fog lifted.  He saw himself, as 
normal, and Akane, fighting, yet again.  The image went to another one, 
of Shampoo chasing him, and then one of Akane smacking him--the images 
went on much the same for quite some time (imagine a collage of the first 
season.)  <Yeah? So nothing changes, is that what he's telling me?>  All 
of a sudden, the deluge of images stopped, and Ranma watched on, bored, 
until he started hearing Akane's voice.  "Ranma, you jerk...I guess you 
never really loved me."  Ranma sat straight up at that.  He saw Akane 
running, crying, away from the Ranma in the mirror, and horror struck 
when he saw Akane get hit by a car, and died, and the subsequent funeral 
and miserable life Ranma had afterwards.   

     "What the HELL was that, some kind of sick joke??"

     "No joke, Ranma," replied Ranma-m, "That is just *one* possibility, in 
fact, at that point, she could (and would) run off to Ryoga or 
Shinnosuke, and they would be the one she married."  

     "NO WAY!!! Akane is MY fiancee!"  

     "Hey, you don't have to tell me, just her, and you have to realize it 
yourself." 

     "...."  

     "Keep watching *smack* there's more."  As Ranma watched, he saw
scenes of Ukyo and Shampoo chasing after him, Akane finnaly getting fed up
with him and leaving, and him marrying Ukyo.  <Hmm...marrying Ukyo wouldn't
be so bad, would it?>  All of a sudden, he was the Ranma in the mirror, and
as he sat at the table, Ukyo serving him some of her special okonomiyaki,
he realized that though Ukyo was a good friend, that's all she was, and there
would never be more, not after Akane.  

     Ranma blinked.  He said "Ok, I see your point."
  
     "So, what do you plan to do about it??"  

     "Well...."  

     "Well nothing. *smack* You have to tell her, otherwise you'll always 
regret it, and you'll never know true happiness." Ranma opened his mouth, 
and then closed it, and then finally said "You're right. I'll tell her 
as soon as I can."


     Once Akane and Genma arrived at Dr. Tofu's and had brought him in, they
sat outside, waiting anxiously for Dr. Tofu.  The doctor came out from his
examination room and said "Well--he's had some kind of shock, but otherwise
his body is in perfect physical condition.  However, he will be out for a 
while."  Akane turned to Genma and said "Mr. Saotome, could you bring him
home?  I need to ask Dr. Tofu something."   

     "Certainly, I will leave right now."  After Genma had left, cradling 
the limp body in his hands, Akane turned to Tofu and said, quietly, "The 
truth, doctor--how bad is it?" Tofu sighed.  "Akane, the first part of 
what I said was true; his body is in perfect physical condition.  What I 
didnt' say was that his--soul--I guess you could say his soul is 
"missing".  What makes Ranma _Ranma_ just isn't there, and I don't know 
what to do."  

     "Very well, Doctor, thank you...we will do what we can."
     
     "I know you will do what is best for him.  Say, Akane..."
  
     "Yes, Doctor Tofu?"

     "Where were you two when this happened?"
  
     "Well, we were in the backyard."
     
     "And?"
   
     "And..he...he...he was g-going to tell me something, he said." Akane 
looked at her hands for a second, steadying herself.  "He almost said some-
thing, but he stopped, at the last second. Then, this "blast" shot down, out
of nowhere, and we decided to take him here, Mr. Saotome and I."

     "What do you think he was going to say?" asked Dr. Tofu gently.

     "I--I think h-he was g-going to s-say that...that he...l-l-loved me."
Akane was very quiet, composing herself.  "Yes...I think that was what he
was going to say."  

     "And how do you feel?  The truth, not the stuff you keep telling every-
one who asks."  Akane's anger flared at this, but her worry over Ranma killed
that almost instantly.

     "I--I guess that, that I love him too.  It's just that he makes it so
hard, he's always insulting me, teasing me...he *never* says anything nice
to or about me."

     "Now, Akane, do you *really* think that's true?"

     "Of course it is!"

     "Come now, I've heard the stories, of how he defended you from that
Sanzenin fellow, from Kirin, Toma, how he didn't force you to come back
when you thought Shinnosuke was dying, how he fought, and fights, Kuno 
because of you.  You do realize, of course, that if he had never met you,
then Kuno wouldn't be after him, that Mikado, Toma, Shinnosuke, Kirin, and
everyone else wouldn't be after him.  You, in all reality, have made his
life much harder than it was."  Akane stared, hurt, at Dr. Tofu. The Doctor
continued with "And I don't think he'd have it any other way."

     "Oh...do you really think so?"

     "Well now, what do you think?  He could have gotten together with Ukyo
or Shampoo for quite some time now.  You beat him up a lot (gives me a lot
of business), Ryoga's always after him, Ranma could have fled all of this
a long time ago, but he remains by your side, pretecting you and trying his
best to win your heart."

     "But he always is chasing after other women." replied Akane angrily.

     "Is he?  Think about it."

     Akane thought about it, remembering when Shampoo came, and Ranma stopped
Shampoo from attacking her, and "defeating" Shampoo in the process.  She also
remembered that Ranma had told Shampoo that he was already engaged, that he
couldn't marry her, even after repeated attempts with drugs, and her great-
grandmother's devious schemes, like the Full-Body Cat's Tongue incident.  
She remembered him putting off woman after woman, and she realized that she
had be blaming him for things he hadn't done, and had overreacted and been
untrusting of him in situations where he always came out right in the end,
like when Ms. Hinako came to town for the first time.  Akane sighed.  "I 
guess you're right.  I *have* been blaming him for stuff he hasn't done."

     "Akane, I have a theory.  I don't think that Ranma was struck down by
anyone.  I think that the force you saw was a physical manifestation of
the conflicting feelings he's having, of the war between pride, love, and
fear of rejection.  I also think that the only way he'll wake up is if you
can admit to him your true feelings, and if you can get him to admit his.
Otherwise, he'll never be the same."

     Akane nodded.  "Thanks, Doctor Tofu, you're the best...next to Ranma,
that is.  I better get home, I think Mr. Saotome's gotten there by now."

     "Alright then, let me know how things work out."

     "Hai! I will.  Bye, Dr. Tofu!"
  
     "Bye Akane...say hello to Kasumi for me, would you?"

     (fading) "Ok!"

     When Akane returned, she shouted "Tadaima! (I'm home!"

     Genma came up.  "Oh, good, you've returned Akane, Ranma hasn't gotten
any better."

     "Well....let me see what I can do.  However, I'll have to be 
alone." Genma nodded and she went up to Ranma's room.

     "Oh Ranma..." she whispered.  "I don't know if I can do this..."
She remembered Dr. Tofu saying "The only way he'll get any better is if
you can admit to him your feelings."  "All right...here goes."

     "Ranma, I'm not sure if you can hear or understand me, but there's some-
thing I need to say.  I know we fight a lot, and that we don't seem to get
along, but...Ranma...I...I..I love you, Ranma, please don't leave!!!" Akane
was sobbing on Ranma's chest when she felt his arms move to encircle her.
     
     "Ranma...?"

     "Akane...did you really mean that?  Do you love me?"  Akane flinched,
then nodded.

     "I do....I have for a really long time."

     "A-akane...I..I love you, too.  I want to marry you.  Akane, please say
you'll be my wife."

     "Oh, Ranma, of course I will."

     "This doesn't change the fact that you're a kawaiikune tomboy...it just
means that I love you."

     "Yeah, and you're still a baka jerk, but so what?"

     Ranma and Akane held each other for a long time that night, letting 
their hearts tell each other what the other had wanted to hear for so long.

     Later that night, Ranma was dozing off when he heard, faintly, like
on the breeze, "Thank you Ranma....you'll never know what you've done."
He was surprised to hear his own voice, if a few years older, but *not* the
same voice as the mirror-Ranma--this voice was the same 
age...but...infinitely...happier.



THE END

My thanks to:
The person who wrote the ST:TNG book Imzadi, for which I drew some (most)
of the storyline from.

Ross McKenzie, for giving me tips on how to write conversations between
characters, a skill long forgotten by myself.

Rumiko Takahashi, whom without which none of you would have been subject
to this torture.


 Soun:"When he's a boy, she just wants him.  When he's a woman, she wants 
       him dead."
Ranma:"...salad sandwich, and soup bread.  Wait. Soup bread doesn't exist."  
Akane:"Pile up enough dust and you've got a mountain, right?"
"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF SHAMPOO!!! *SLAM*" -Mousse, in full kick-ass mode
"Only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter." -Confucius
email at:geist@holly.colostate.edu -- Ukyo on IRC at #ranma!