Hello all!  This is part Two of Well, Well (a sequel to The Second).  C 
&C welcome ^_^

“Well, Well - Part 2”


Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
“Well, Well - Part 2”
by Suds-kun (suds1964@tir.com)

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Ranma 1/2 characters are created by and copyright Rumiko Takahashi.  
Published by Shogakukan Inc. and VIZ Comm. and are used without 
permission.  Intended for the sole non-profit use of R.T. fans.
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Previously, Ryoga went on a quest on behalf of Happosai.  He was within 
reach of his goal.  But like Happosai, he was unable to come anywhere 
near the well.

He looked around.  There was a clearing just ahead.  He looked at the 
well worn map and realized that the well was just ahead.  With joy he ran 
towards the clearing, hit something hard and landed on his back.  “Nani?” 
he shouted.  He stood up and held his hand out.  He could feel something, 
like a steel wall, but could not see the wall.  It was as if the wall was 
invisible.  Then a bird flew by Ryoga.  “The bird is going to hit the 
wall,” Ryoga thought.  But the bird flew on, as if there was nothing 
there.  Ryoga could feel that the wall was still there, even where the 
bird had flown through.  “This must be what Happosai said about being 
‘unworthy’, “ Ryoga choked.  He fell to his knees and felt the old 
despair engulf him.

“My joy of being cured was taken by Ranma killing himself!”  Ryoga 
shouted.  “And now, when I am so close to solving my problems, I am 
denied!”  Ryoga’s screams filled the air and were then replaced by 
sobbing.  “I’m not noble enough,” he thought.  “I just want to be happy.” 
 Ryoga remembered Akari and began to smile.  She had been there for him. 
 He didn’t get as depressed as Ukyo thanks to Akari.  “Akari loves me,“ 
Ryoga said quietly, “and I love her.”  “Everyone could tell that Ranma 
and Akane loved each other,”  he thought. “They just never told each 
other, and I’m one of the people who should be blamed.  I would sleep 
with Akane, while I was a pig.  At the time, it felt good torturing Ranma 
like that.  He deserved it.  He was the one who caused me to be cursed.  
But he also was the one who cured me.  Not just me, but also his father. 
 He could have cured himself, but cured us instead.  I just want Ranma 
and Akane to have another chance at love.  I have Akari, and the others 
are gone or have found someone else.”

Ryoga stood and began to walk home.  A hand grabbed his shoulder and 
pulled him away from a well that he was about to stumble into.  “Nani?”  
Ryoga said as he looked at the small old priest who was pulling on his 
arm.

“I had been waiting for you.”  He said.  “I could feel your emotions 
since you started your journey.  Not until you came to an understanding 
of yourself and your wish, were you able to enter this clearing.  Your 
quest for the well is almost at an end.  Remember, only noble wishes are 
granted.  When a wish is granted, there are no strings attached.  No 
horrible twist of fate, just a pure and simple answer to your wish.”

Ryoga looked on in astonishment.  He reached in his pocket and pulled out 
the five yen piece and walked towards the well.  Standing at the well, 
Ryoga dropped the coin into the well and closed his eyes.  “I wish that 
Ranma and Akane were alive.”

Ryoga kept his eyes closed.  “I said the wish just the way Ukyo and I 
agreed,” he thought.  “But nothing happened.  No clap of thunder, no 
earthquake.  Nothing!”  Ryoga stood, turned and opened his eyes.  
Standing before him were Ranma and Akane!

They just stood there looking at each other.  “What was the last thing 
you remember?”  Ryoga asked.

Akane wrapped her arms around herself and said, “I remember being a doll 
and not being able to move and Ranma was about to douse everyone in water 
from the Dragon tap.  Then standing here looking at you.”  Akane turned 
to look at Ranma.

Ranma had one hand on his stomach and another on his throat.  “I . . . I 
. . remember the tanto in my hands and this coldness going through my 
neck.  My head hit something and then I saw you were kneeling in front of 
me.”  Ranma turned and looked at Akane.

“AKANE!!!!” Ranma shouted as he grabbed his iinazuke.  He hugged her as 
tight as he dared.  “Akane, I thought I had lost you forever!” Ranma 
said, just before Akane punched him in the face.

“What do you think you are doing, you pervert?”  Akane shouted at a 
stunned Ranma.

“B, buh .. but!” Ranma stammered.

“Ranma!  Akane!  Stop!”  Ryoga shouted.  Ukyo had warned him that this 
would happen.  Akane wouldn’t know that she had died.  “I want you two to 
listen to me and understand what has happened.”

Ryoga explained to Akane about her death and about how Ranma blamed 
himself for not saving her.  He also explained how Ranma talked Kuno into 
being his kaishaku when Ranma committed seppuku.

Akane was in shock.  “He killed himself?  What a macho, jerk!”  she 
thought.  “He still was alive!  He could have lived another 80 years!  
What a self-centered, egotistical pervert!”  Akane started to glow blue.

Ranma recognized what was going to happen.  He grabbed Akane’s arms and 
looked into her eyes.  “I love you, Tendo Akane.  You were everything to 
me... happiness, life and honor.  When you died, I lost everything.”  
Akane’s battle aura started to disappear.

“Nani?” she said.

Ranma started to explain.  “When you died, I finally realized how much I 
loved you.  I would never again be able to tell you that.  To hold you.  
To ... kiss you.  There was nothing else in my life.  It was empty, 
without you there to share it with.”

Akane stared at Ranma, “Oh, Ranma.”  she quietly said as tears started to 
fall from her eyes.

Ranma reached over and hugged her.  They looked into each others eyes as 
their faces drew closer together.  And then they kissed.  Eyes closed, 
nothing else in the world existed except their hearts beating in unison 
and their kiss.

Ryoga coughed to get their attention.  All three blushed.

Ryoga remembered the other thing Ukyo said that should be done.

“Akane, I have something important to tell you.”  Ryoga began.  “Shortly 
after Ranma fell in that cursed spring at Jusenkyo, I fell into one of 
the springs.  I was ... accidentally knocked into the spring while Ranma 
was chasing his father.”  Akane gasped.  “The spring was that of ‘drowned 
pig.’  Akane didn’t move or breath.  “When I first met you as a pig, 
Akane, I fell in l ... luh ... love with you.  But all you saw in me was 
your pet P-chan.”

Akane’s thoughts were as follows:  “Cursed?” “Ranma?”  “Puh, pig?”  “Puh, 
P-chan?”  She started to glow blue again when Ranma grabbed her hand and 
gently squeezed.  “Let him finish, please?”  Ranma said, with the most 
sorrowful of eyes.  After looking into Ranma’s eyes, she turned to Ryoga 
and nodded for him to continue.

Hesitantly, Ryoga resumed his story.  “I never wanted to hurt you, Akane. 
 I only wanted to be with you.  I blamed Ranma for my condition and hated 
him for it.  When you died, I blamed Ranma for that, too.  I was going to 
kill him.  Honestly, I was not going to rest until I killed him.  When I 
showed up at the dojo, Ranma stopped me.  He then splashed me with some 
Naniichuan water.  Ranma had cured me.  All my pain and hurt was replaced 
by shock.  Why didn’t he use it on himself?  I then followed him into the 
house and he poured the rest on his father, curing him as well.”

“Ranma?”  Akane said as she turned to face her fiancee.

“I was only thinking of honor.”  Ranma replied.  “I was responsible for 
Ryoga being cursed.  That is why I never told anyone about him being a 
pig.  And that’s why, when pop gave me the Naniichuan, that I cured Ryoga 
first.  After that, I cured pop.  I felt that I no longer had any honor 
and didn’t deserve to be cured.”

“And because of that stupid honor, you killed yourself!”  Akane shouted, 
as she glared at Ranma.  “How selfish can you be?  Don’t you realize that 
your parents love you?  That your friends care for you?  That, that ... 
that _I_ love you?”

“Akane, I .. I’m sorry.  Please forgive me.”  Ranma said as he reached 
for her.

Akane hesitated.  “I died.  Ranma throws his life away and probably 
destroyed our families’ live in the process.  And he wants me to forgive 
him?”  Akane starts to back away.  “That baka!  What is he thinking?”  
Looking at Ranma’s face, and the hurt she sees in his eyes, she remembers 
what he said earlier, “I love you, Tendo Akane.”

“Ranma,”  she breathed as she grabbed hold of her love.  “Don’t you ever 
do that again.  I don’t want that hurt anywhere near me.”

“I promise, my love.”  Ranma whispered into Akane’s ear.

Ryoga smiled.  “It worked!” he said to himself.  “It’s time to go home.” 
 Ryoga announced.  I need to fill you in on what happened while you two 
were, uhmm, away.”

The three friends giggled nervously as they left the well.

The old priest smiled at them and entered his shrine.

End Part Two

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In Part Three -

Venom dripped from her every word as she looked at Ranma.

-- 
Suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
suds1964@tir.com
"THIS time, we didn't forget the graaavy!" Cat & Mouse to Dog