Okay, this is the first draft of the second part of "Yuki-onna: Hearts of Ice." Thanks again to all
those who offered C&C on the first part. I look forward to your comments on this part as well.
General acknowledgements:
I would like to thank Chris Rijk for pre-reading this story and offering his comments and
suggestions, giving me the courage to submit it for general scrutiny. I would also like to thank all
the other fanfic authors out there who not only saved me from going into severe Ranma
withdrawal, but also prompted me to try my own hand at Ranma fanfic. This story is *your*
fault! ^_^
The characters of the Ranma « universe are the sole creation and possession of the brilliant
Rumiko Takahasi.
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Yuki-onna: Hearts of Ice
Part 2: The Kami Plane
by Krista Perry
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Akane knelt at the dinner table, holding a contented P-Chan in her lap, gently stroking the
fine black hairs on his head as she watched the last traces of sunset fade from the dark western
sky. The first evening stars were shining faintly. She smiled as Kasumi brought in the meal and
began serving food to each plate. Soun and Genma were already seated, their mouths open and
watering. Nabiki wandered in a moment later, and casually raised an eyebrow at her younger
sister.
"Honestly, Akane," she said, teasing, "I can't believe how much you spoil that pig of
yours. Are you going to be feeding him from the table again?"
Akane frowned. "Now don't *you* start picking on P-Chan," she said mildly. "It's bad
enough that Ranma always seems to be trying to beat him up or something. Besides, he likes
people-food. Don't you, P-Chan?"
P-Chan gazed at Akane in adoration.
"Speaking of Ranma," said Kasumi, setting the last dish on the table and kneeling in her
regular spot, "has anyone seen him this evening? It's not like him to miss dinner."
<At least, not when *you're* cooking,> thought Nabiki wryly. She cast a glance at Akane
and noticed the scowl that suddenly creased her younger sister's face, indicating that the same
thought had crossed her mind.
Genma eyed Ranma's plate greedily. "Hmm. It's too bad he's not here. I guess I'll have to
eat his dinner. Can't let all that food go to waste, you know."
Kasumi gave Genma a disapproving look that consisted of a slight frown, which would
have cowed him away from Ranma's plate had he been watching. As it was, he was so absorbed
in stuffing Ranma's food into his mouth that he missed it completely.
Akane didn't miss the look. "Well, I say he deserves it," she said. "Serves him right for
being late, the jerk." P-Chan sighed happily and nuzzled Akane's hand affectionately with his
snout, making her smile. "See? Even P-Chan agrees with me."
"Aw, what would that stupid pig know?" said Ranma as he walked into the dining area,
glaring at P-Chan, who returned the nastiness of his gaze with interest.
"Where have you been?" asked Akane angrily. "Do you know how late it is?"
"Why?" chided Nabiki. "Were you worried about him?"
Akane flushed pink. "Worried?! About that stupid pervert? No way!"
"Oh yeah?" said Ranma defensively. Why was it that her insults always seemed to sting so
much? It never bothered him coming from anybody else. "Well, it's none of your business where
I went anyway, you kawaikune tomboy. And anyway, I'm not *that* late. I'm still in time for
dinner."
"That's debatable," said Nabiki with a slight smile.
Ranma finally noticed that Genma was cleaning his plate off with remarkable speed.
Shouting in anger, he leapt over the table and elbowed his father's head into the floor in one fluid
motion. "Get away from my food, Pop."
Genma sat up, his face red with fury (caused mostly by his inability to finish Ranma's
food), picked his son up by the front of his Chinese shirt, and tossed him out the patio door.
"Show some respect for your father," he shouted, as Ranma landed with uncanny accuracy in the
middle of the pond.
Kasumi sighed, excused herself from the table, and went into the kitchen to heat up a
kettle of water.
"So," said Nabiki, turning away from the familiar scene that was unfolding outside to
address her sister, "what did you two fight about today?"
Ranma leapt out of the pond, red hair dripping, her wet, baggy clothes plastered to her
womanly figure, and growled. "All right, Pop! You asked for it!" She charged.
Akane scowled and looked at her food, not meeting Nabiki's gaze. "Oh, the usual. The
pervert said he missed having Shampoo glomp on him since she hasn't been around all week."
<Translation:> thought Nabiki. <Ranma opened his big mouth and wondered out loud
why Shampoo hadn't attacked him recently. Akane misunderstood, as usual, and pounded him to
a pulp.>
Genma paused in stuffing his face to meet Ranma's attack, but was too slow. His female
son grabbed him by the back of his gi and sent her father flying to his furry fate.
Nabiki heard the splash. "Great," she said, groaning around a mouthful of food. "Nothing
like the smell of wet panda fur while you're trying to eat."
Akane snorted. "I thought you'd be used to it by now."
Nabiki looked out the patio door where a voluptuous red-head and a panda with a pair of
glasses dangling from its ear were grappling in a mid-air battle over the lawn, and sighed. "Some
things you *never* get used to, sis."
The battle ended abruptly when the panda left an opening, allowing Ranma to land a
powerful kick to her father's face. The kick sent him on an unconscious flight into the wall that
surrounded the house.
Ranma landed lightly on her feet and made a show of dusting off her hands. "Stupid old
man," she muttered. "What is he thinking, stealing my food?"
Kasumi came out of the kitchen and noticed that the battle was over. "Akane," she asked,
smiling. "Would you take this out to Ranma and Uncle Saotome, please?"
Akane stiffened, ready to protest, but something in Kasumi's smile prevented her, and she
slumped. "Okay, Kasumi," she said, putting down P-Chan and standing to take the kettle. She
went outside, P-Chan trotting after her.
Ranma stood dripping on the grass, looking at Akane and the kettle with a strange look on
her face; a combination of expectation and apprehension. Akane sighed. At least he was waiting
to change back into a guy before taking off his shirt to wring it out. She walked over and
upended half the contents of the kettle over his head, then turned to walk over to the unconscious
panda.
"Um... Akane?" Ranma's voice was hesitant. Akane stopped, surprised, and turned to
look at him. He was looking at his feet and twisting his fingers nervously.
"What is it, Ranma?" She tried to sound impatient, but for some reason, it didn't come out
that way.
He didn't raise his eyes. "Uh, well... I just wanted to say that, you know... I'm sorry about
earlier."
Akane froze, not quite believing what she had heard. P-Chan grunted angrily at her feet.
"What?" she asked.
He looked up and put his hand behind his head, embarrassed. He couldn't seem to meet
her eyes. "You know... What I said about Shampoo... Well, it didn't come out the way I meant.
I'm sorry if I made you angry."
Akane blinked, disbelieving. He actually sounded sincere. Either that or... "Do you have
a fever, Ranma?"
Ranma's arms dropped to his sides and stared at her. "Hey!" he said indignantly. "I'm
*trying* to apologize here! This ain't easy, you know!"
Akane flushed and lowered her gaze, a dozen conflicting emotions flooding her. This
couldn't be happening! She didn't *want* Ranma to apologize. She wanted to be angry at him
because... because being angry at him was easier than... easier than...
"Hey Akane, you okay?" She looked up to see concern on Ranma's face, which melted
into self-recrimination. "Jeeze, I can't even apologize right," he said with disgust. His shoulders
slumped, and he turned to walk into the house.
"Ranma, wait," said Akane. Her throat thickened as he looked over his shoulder at her,
and she swallowed. "I'm sorry too. I-I shouldn't... shouldn't have gotten angry. And I shouldn't
have thrown that water on you at school. I don't know why I did that. I guess I've kind of been
on edge today."
Ranma turned to face her, his expression shifting to an amazed half-smile, the kind of
smile that reached his blue eyes, accenting how handsome he was, and made all the girls flock
after him like love-sick sheep... The thought made Akane angry but she pushed it down, feeling a
little affected by the smile herself. She could feel herself blushing.
Ranma saw her flush, and felt the pink rise to his own cheeks as it suddenly struck him
how cute she looked. "Uh, h-hey, it's okay," he said, stuttering. "I mean, I kinda wondered about
the stuff in the hallway, 'cause usually it takes a lot more to set you off..." He trailed off as
Akane's gaze hardened, and his hands flew up in a placating gesture. "That's not what I meant!"
he said quickly. "I meant that, uh, I understood, 'cause I've been feeling kind of weird myself
today. So it's okay." He smiled sheepishly, his hands still in the air hoping to ward off Akane's
anger.
But her expression had already softened from anger to curiosity. "Hmm, that's odd," she
said softly, thinking of her own edgy feelings. "I wonder..." Her eyes widened as she suddenly
looked past him.
"Wonder what?" asked Ranma.
"What in the world is that?" she asked, pointing behind him.
Ranma turned. There was a small dark red glow rising out of the western sky where the
sun had disappeared a few minutes earlier. "What the..." The weird feeling that had been
plaguing him all day suddenly peaked, and Ranma felt his heart pound. Without thinking, he
reached and grabbed Akane's arm, almost causing her to drop the kettle.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she protested, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were
focused on the strange glow. He began pulling her toward the house. "Hey!" she protested
again, getting angry as she tried to pull out of his grip.
"Come on, Akane," he said. There was a worried tinge to his voice that made Akane
pause. "I think we should go in the house."
"Why?" she asked, now feeling worried herself. "What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, but it's headed this way."
"What?!" She looked at the glow again. Sure enough, it was rising in the sky, streaking
directly toward them like a locked-on missile -- a missile swirling with dark, unnatural energy.
The unnerving sight attracted the attention of the rest of the Tendo family. Kasumi, Nabiki and
Soun stared at it from the patio doors.
"It might not be anything to worry about," Soun said, trying to sound cheerful and failing.
"We don't know what it is. It could be a natural phenomenon."
Nabiki snorted. "Right. A natural phenomenon that's coming straight for us. Considering
everything else that's happened to this family, I *don't* think that's a possibility."
Akane's heart rose in her throat in apprehension. "It's not really coming for *us,* is it?"
she asked hesitantly, knowing the answer as soon as she voiced it. She stared at it fearfully.
"Ranma, what is it?"
"I don't know," he said again, growling in frustration as he pulled her into the house, "but
it doesn't look friendly, so come on!" He didn't tell her that every instinct in his mind was
screaming at him that the thing headed towards them wanted to destroy them.
P-Chan squealed anxiously at Akane's feet, and she bent down and scooped him up in her
free arm. "Ranma," she said, remembering, "your father!"
Ranma looked over to the unconscious panda. "Damn!" he shouted. He let go of Akane's
arm, took the kettle from her, and pushed her towards the house. "Get inside, Akane," he said,
then ran to his father's prone form and dumped the rest of the hot water on him. He was still out
cold, so Ranma bent and slung him over his shoulder, and ran back to the house.
"Here, take him," he said, shoving his father at a white-faced Soun, then turned to run
back outside.
"Ranma!" yelled Akane, "What are you doing?!"
"What does it look like, stupid?" he called back, his battle aura blazing, lighting up the
yard as he formed a bright ball of ki energy in his hands. "I'm gonna stop that thing!"
Akane bristled instinctively. "Who are you calling stupid, you--" But Ranma wasn't
listening.
In the space of less than a minute, swirling missile of malevolent energy had traversed the
space from the horizon and was now almost halfway to them. Ranma spread his hands in front of
him and pointed his palms in the direction of the strange glowing object. "*Mouko
Takabishya!!!*" A bright blaze of ki-power exploded from Ranma's hands and was sent hurling
through the atmosphere towards the red glow. It impacted with a thunderous roar --
-- and dissipated harmlessly.
"What the..!" Ranma stared in disbelief.
"It didn't even slow it down," he heard Nabiki mutter somewhere behind him.
Ranma gritted his teeth in determination. "All right," he shouted. "This time for sure!"
There was no way he was going to let that thing reach Akane... or any of the others, for that
matter. He reached deep inside himself and pulled all the confidence and ki power he could
muster from the depths of his soul. This *had* to work; this blast was going to leave him totally
drained. He could feel the surface of his skin start to sizzle with the power build up. Inside the
house, the Tendos shielded their eyes from the intense brightness of Ranma's aura.
"MOUKO TAKABISHYA!!!" All the light and energy surrounding Ranma left him in a
great roaring burst, and he gasped at the hollow, dark sensation that was left in its wake. <Whoa!
Maybe I overdid it,> he thought as he swayed weakly and collapsed to his knees. <But this has
*got* to work!>
The missile-shaped mass of dark aura flattened as Ranma's ki slammed into it with
tremendous force. There was a moment of complete silence, then the mass shattered into
hundreds of red glowing pieces flying all different directions. "YES!" shouted Ranma. Or at least
he wanted to shout, but all he managed was a tired, hoarse whisper.
A moment later, his jubilation turned to horror as all the glowing pieces coalesced
together into the swirling missile shape once again, and resumed it's collision trajectory. "No," he
cried soundlessly. "No, no, this can't be happening."
He felt strong hands reach under each of his arms and haul him to his feet. Genma, who
had regained consciousness in time to see his son release his final ki blast, picked him up and
carried him into the house in spite of his feeble protests.
Once inside, he stood unsteadily on his own feet and joined the rest of the Tendo family as
they stared in silence at the swiftly approaching streak of blood-red energy. It was almost upon
them. There was nowhere they could run fast enough to escape, and they knew it. It descended
in a steep arc towards their house.
Akane stood beside Ranma, her eyes wide with fear. "Somehow," she said in a small
voice, "I get the feeling that just being on the other side of this wall isn't going to help us very
much."
Kasumi put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my," she said weakly.
"I think you did something to it, though," Nabiki said, looking at Ranma, who was shaking
from exhaustion. "It seems... weaker somehow. It's not as big as it was."
Akane's hands twitched nervously at her sides, when suddenly she felt the tips of Ranma's
fingers touch hers. She almost jerked away, but instead, she froze as she felt his hand tentatively
envelop hers in a comforting grip. She almost stopped breathing. <Ranma..?> Then she gulped.
<His hand is so big!> she thought, giving it a grateful squeeze and wondering how she could think
of such a thing when their doom was rocketing towards them.
<Her hand is so tiny!> he thought, a drop of sweat forming on his cheek as he wondered
how he could think of such a thing when their doom was rocketing towards them. He was
surprised to find that the hollowness inside him left by his ki blast filled up a little when he took
her hand, steadying him and giving him strength. <Wow, I never knew she could do that,> he
thought, looking down at her, his eyes wide.
She must have felt it too, because she turned her head and met his gaze, her brown eyes
strangely calm. "Ranma..." she whispered...
... and then the violent storm of magic burst through the roof of the house.
The blood-spell paused, almost like a sentient being in contemplation for a couple of
moments, while the people in the room stared at it in terror. It shifted in shape, stretching and
widening like an amoeba. Then, without warning, it moved to completely engulf Ranma and
Akane.
To Akane's surprise, it wasn't painful. Quite the opposite, really, for she suddenly felt
numb all over. Ranma, on the other hand, was writhing in pain, and she could see some of the red
glow seeping into his skin. "Ranma!" she screamed, and was surprised when no sound came out
of her mouth. The numbness was creeping deeper into her body, and she looked down at her
hand, still clutched in Ranma's, and saw to her horror that it was becoming transparent. She could
hear her father calling her name through the roar of the magic cyclone.
Ranma thought he was going to die. The pain was unbearable, as if every cell in his body
was being invaded by a malevolent virus. Tears of agony streamed from his clenched eyes, but he
fought against the pressing blackness of unconsciousness with all his will, holding tight to Akane's
hand... Her hand! He couldn't feel it any more. His eyes flew open and he saw Akane, fading
like a ghost at dawn, her face a white mask of terror, her hands reaching out for him, her mouth
silently screaming his name.
"Akane!" Desperately, he reached out to her, but his hands passed right through her, and
then she was gone. As if she had never been.
The blood-spell disappeared silently, it's mission complete.
Ranma collapsed to his knees, shaking, his hands still reaching out. "Akane..." He felt the
oblivion of unconsciousness crashing over him like a wave, but he didn't care. She was gone. He
hadn't been able to save her, and she was gone...
Nabiki stood, her eyes wide in shock as Ranma slumped in a crumpled heap to the floor.
She felt surprised to be alive, especially since she had expected the thing to incinerate them or
something. Instead, it had done something really weird to Ranma and had stolen Akane. She was
pretty sure this was all Ranma's fault. Stuff like this never happened before he and his dad
showed up.
She looked over at her father and older sister. Soun was sobbing for Akane, and Kasumi
was staring at Ranma, her face pale and drawn. Genma was also looking at his son, appearing at
a loss at what to do.
Nabiki looked at Ranma, hesitant to approach him. She had seen how the red aura had
seeped into his body. He might be possessed or hypnotised or something. She waited for him to
jump up with glowing evil eyes and attack them, but moments passed, and Ranma didn't move.
She walked towards him slowly, then knelt down next to his prone form. Taking him by
the shoulder, she gently turned him over onto his back. Hmm. It didn't look like he would be
waking up any time soon. His skin was an unhealthy gray color, and, taking his limp hand in her
own, she saw that his fingernails were tinged blue. Matching the fingernails on her own shaking
fingers.
<Oh hell, I'm in shock,> Nabiki realized.
She turned to Kasumi. The mother figure, the one who always knew how to handle any
crisis, no matter how bizarre. She almost smiled as she saw her older sister gain physical and
mental control of herself so that she could take control of the situation. "We need some medical
attention here, oneechan," she told her in a surprisingly steady voice.
Kasumi nodded. "I'll call Doctor Tofu," she replied, and walked over to the phone.
------------------------------------------------
White. A vast expanse of white. It was the first thing she was aware of after the feeling
of nothingness that encompassed her. <Am I dead?> she thought. Then sensation slowly
returned to her body, and with it came a fierce, biting cold.
Akane shivered convulsively and looked down at herself. She was solid. No longer
transparent, no longer numb. She was flesh and blood, wearing her usual school uniform dress...
and standing up to her knees in heavy, wet snow. Snow that was getting deeper as the blizzard
she was standing in continued to send stinging sheets of icy flakes earthward. Already, she could
feel the snow and ice caking to her hair and clothes. She turned and looked around in
amazement, but couldn't see more than a few feet in any direction because of the storm.
"Where the hell am I?!" she yelled, more to make sure that she actually could than to get
an answer. She remembered trying to call Ranma's name and not being able to utter a sound as he
faded from her sight... or rather as she faded from his. She knew she had been transported
someplace... but where? Siberia? The North Pole?
"Well," she said out loud. Her voice provided strange comfort, even though the sound of
it was swallowed by the wind. "If I'm not d-dead now, I s-soon w-will be if I d-don't get out of t-this s-storm." Her teeth chattered together uncontrollably. Not knowing what else to do, she
tucked her hands under her arms in a vain attempt to keep them warm, and started trudging
straight ahead, hoping that whatever had deposited her here had at least pointed her in the right
direction to get help. She snorted to herself. "Not l-likely," she muttered. But she wasn't about
to give up. Not without a fight.
After stumbling through deep drifts of snow for what seemed like an eternity, Akane
finally admitted to herself that she was in big trouble. A different kind of terrifying numbness had
crept back into her skin, and her face felt like a frozen slab. She felt that if she stubbed her foot
against a rock that it would probably break and fall off like a piece of shattering ice. A story from
her American Literature class came unbidden to her mind. The story was called "To 'Build A
Fire," by Jack London. She couldn't remember the details, but it was about some foolish guy who
went hiking in the Yukon without sufficient preparation and froze to death before he could gather
enough materials to build a fire. It had creeped her out, the way death had come so subtly -- and
so quickly -- shutting down his body until he couldn't even hold the match in his fingers to strike
the flame. He had died with the match in his hand.
<Oh, well *that's* a great thing to think about at a time like this,> she thought wryly,
forcing her legs through the snow one at a time. She had stopped feeling them a while ago, and
she strongly suspected that she was suffering from frostbite over most of her body. She ached
with exhaustion, and numbing despair started to seep into her mind, but she shook it off forcibly.
<No *way*! I'm *not* giving up! I'm not, I'm NOT I'M NOT I'M--> Her body had different
ideas. She fell face first into the snow.
Her first thought was how amazingly warm it seemed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she
lay there for a while. At least until she warmed up a little more. Then she could go on a bit
further.
"Well, I'm almost impressed! She made it further than any of the others. What do you
think, is she worth keeping?"
"I would think so. She's a strong one, for a mortal, not to mention quite attractive. She'll
make a fine servant for the mistress.
Akane heard voices right above her. <I'm hallucinating,> she thought giddily. Then she
felt her frozen body lifted gently out of the snow. <Oh, I've been rescued. Even better!> she
thought, just before she was smothered by a warm wave of sleep.
She awoke, not having any idea of how much time had passed, and found herself looking
at a ceiling that appeared to be made out of crystal. Light danced through and across its surface,
refracting into rainbow colors that shimmered on dazzling white walls... She blinked. "What...
where..?"
"Ah, you're awake," said a stern voice. "Good, good." Akane turned her head and was
startled to find herself staring into the face of a strange little man who was standing over her,
scowling. He looked as if he had been carved from ice. His face was all angles, and his skin and
hair were a bluish white color. His eyes were the color of winter thunderheads.
"Who are you?" she demanded, getting to her feet abruptly. She found herself standing on
a soft white futon in the middle of a small, sparsely decorated room. The last thing she
remembered, she had been freezing to death... She looked down at herself. She was still wearing
her school uniform, and she appeared to be in perfect condition. "What is going on here? Where
am I?!"
"My name is Kazuo," answered the man loftily. "You have been... transported to the
realm of our mistress, and I am here to train you in your duties as a servant of her household."
"Huh?" Akane blinked, and felt herself getting angry. "What are you *talking* about?
I'm not anybody's servant. And where, exactly, is *here*?"
Kazuo sneered. "Arrogant mortal, you cannot refuse. You are trapped in the Kami Plane,
and as such you will serve the mistress for eternity."
Akane stared. <Arrogant *mortal?!* *Kami* Plane? Oh no, what mess have I landed in
*this* time?>" She looked at the strange ice-man who, although shorter, was doing an amazing
job of looking down his nose at her. He didn't look like the type who would readily yield the
information she needed to find her way out of this place. "Who is this 'mistress' you keep talking
about?" she asked.
"Our mistress is Yuki-onna."
A tight feeling of apprehension began building in her chest. <But-- but that's not
*possible!*> "The Snow Woman?" she asked. "But she's just a fairy tale... isn't she?" Then she
looked closely at the little ice-man who called himself Kazuo, and swallowed hard. And if she
was in the Kami Plane... She had heard tales of Yuki-onna when she was a child, of how she was
a malevolent spirit who delighted in catching men unawares and freezing them to death. She
suppressed a shudder. She was supposed to spend the rest of eternity as a servant to an evil
spirit?
"And what if I don't want to be a servant for Yuki-onna?" she said defensively.
The man raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't have a choice."
Akane returned the look stonily. "Oh yeah?" The bluish fire of Akane's battle aura began
to flicker around her body. "We'll see about that!" She had to get out of here, she had to find a
way to get back home.
The little man's eyes went wide as Akane flared and crouched into a battle stance. "Ahh,
now hold on, there's no need for that," he said, his haughty demeanor slipping into nervousness as
he dropped into a defensive posture.
"Are you going to show me how to get out of here and get back home?"
"Well, no..."
"Then fight me, or get out of my way." Akane shifted in her stance and prepared to
attack.
"Kazuo doesn't mean that he *won't* show you how to leave," said a woman's voice.
"He's saying that he *can't.*" Swiftly, and not letting down her guard, Akane looked up and past
Kazuo to see a tall woman standing in the doorway.
The woman's face was inhumanly white, yet beautiful; her figure slender and gracefully
feminine in a form-fitting frost blue gown that matched her eyes exactly. Long, gleaming white
hair that seemed to shimmer with all the colors of the spectrum swept back from her face and fell
in waves to her ankles.
Kazuo relaxed out of his defensive posture and bowed deeply. "Mistress, allow me to
introduce Tendo Akane. Tendo Akane, Mistress Yuki-onna."
Akane was speechless. Still, she didn't let down her guard, even when the Snow Woman
smiled.
"Welcome to my household, Tendo Akane. I fear that Kazuo has failed to make my
intentions clear. For the moment, you are a guest, not a prisoner."
Akane didn't miss the words 'for the moment.' She suddenly found her voice. "If I'm not a
prisoner," she asked boldly, "then why won't you let me go home?"
"It is not I who binds you here," answered the Snow Woman gently, "but the spell which
brought you to this realm."
"Spell?" <So *that's* what it was.> Akane felt her heart sink. "Isn't there any way to
break it? So I can go home?"
Yuki-onna closed her eyes and inclined her head slightly. "I can feel the taint of dragon
blood about you," she said after a moment, "and such powerful magic is not easily removed."
"Not easily..." Akane felt a spark of hope kindle within her chest. "But not impossible?"
Yuki-onna nodded slightly. "I would discuss this with you. Will you join me for tea?"
Akane felt herself at a loss. Everything was happening so quickly. This certainly wasn't
the evil, heartless Snow Woman of the tales she'd been told as a child. She suddenly realized she
was still standing in an attack posture as she faced her surprisingly gracious hostess, and felt color
rise to her cheeks in embarrassment. She relaxed and bowed. "I - I would be honored," she
replied.
--------------------------------------------
The tea was cold.
<Like *that* should be a surprise,> thought Akane, as she gazed into her cup. Everything
in Yuki-onna's household was cold, though not uncomfortably so, and Akane was surprised that it
didn't seem to bother her at all. Still, she had been looking forward to a nice, *hot* cup of tea.
"The spell that brought you here..." said the Snow Woman, sipping her tea delicately.
"You should know that it nearly failed."
Akane looked up from her tea at the beautiful white apparition kneeling across from her,
surprised. "What?"
"Yes. I'm not sure if you were meant to be transported somewhere specific within the
Kami Plane, but for some reason the spell was weaker than it should have been, and you were
nearly lost in between. I sensed the magic, and pulled you to safety in my domain."
<It was weakened,> Akane thought sadly. <Ranma's ki blast *almost* worked.> Then
she realized what Yuki-onna had said. "Wait a minute," she said, getting angry. "You pulled me
to *safety?* When I came out of the... the spell, I was in the middle of a blizzard, and I nearly
froze to death!"
"You were safe." Yuki-onna met Akane's gaze levelly. "I placed you in the blizzard as a
test of your physical and spiritual strength. You did quite well. But you were never in any real
danger."
"Well," snapped Akane, "it would have been nice to know that at the time!"
"Do you know who cast this spell on you?" asked the Snow Woman.
The question startled Akane out of her anger. "Uh, no, actually. I really haven't had a
chance to think about it."
"Whomever it was must be a powerful warrior and sorcerer. Dragon blood, especially this
old, is not easy to come by."
"Warrior and sorcerer?" Akane grimaced, and started counting off on her fingers. "Well,
let's see, then it could be... Happossai, Cologne and/or Shampoo... um, Herb... Pantsuo... who
else? I know I'm missing someone..."
Yuki-onna's eyes widened in surprise. "So many? How is it that you have all these
enemies?"
She sighed. "Well, most of them aren't really *my* enemies. They're Ranma's enemies.
The spell caught him too..." Akane trailed off, remembering Ranma, writhing in agony as the red
aura seeped into his skin, the look of anguish on his face as he reached out to her, his hands
passing through her insubstantial body... What had happened to him? Was he all right? She
looked at her fingers, remembering the feel of his huge warm hand covering hers, and felt tears
well in her eyes. She blinked them back, surprised at herself.
Her tears did not escape notice. "And who is Ranma?" asked the Snow Woman softly.
"He's my... my fiance."
Yuki-onna's frost-blue eyes clouded. "Fiance?" she asked, a distinct chill creeping into her
voice. "And you love him, yes?"
Akane missed the tone of the question completely as she instinctively bristled at the words.
"What?! Me, love that stupid pervert?" Then Ranma's awkward, but sincere apology suddenly
surfaced in her mind, and her anger faltered. "I - I... no, I mean ye.. It was all our parents' idea!"
she exclaimed uncertainly.
Yuki-onna gazed at her coolly. "You seem confused. Do you love him or no?"
Akane gazed into her tea miserably. "I- I don't know."
A half-smile crept onto the woman's cold white face. "Then let me give you some advice,
child. Men," her voice filled with derision, "are not worth the grief. Forget about him."
Akane looked up, blinking her wet eyes. "W-what?"
"Men are unfaithful to the core of their souls. If you put your trust in them, it is inevitable
that they will betray you." Her piercing blue gaze made Akane shiver. "Have you not found this
to be so?"
Akane looked down at her hands at the thought of Ranma and his 'other fiancees.' "H-hai," she whispered.
The Snow Woman smiled, satisfied. "I have a proposal for you, Tendo Akane. As I
mentioned, you passed the test of the storm remarkably well... Better than any mortal before you
ever has. You are possessed of great physical and spiritual strength. With the proper training,
your service would be of great use to me."
Akane looked up, her eyes worried, but determined. "Look, um, I don't mean to be rude,
but I really don't want to stay here. You said that you might be able to break this spell and send
me home?"
The Snow Woman sighed, her breath sending an icy breeze through the room. "I will be
honest with you, Tendo Akane. The spell, even though weakened, is still very powerful. It will
take me some time and study and a great deal of hard work before I can understand it enough to
remove its effects from you."
Akane felt the bottom falling out of her world. "Time?" she asked. She couldn't keep her
voice from shaking. "How much time?"
"Considering that the spell was supposed to hold you here for eternity, not very long in
comparison."
"How long?"
Yuki-onna's normal icy gaze warmed with a sad compassion for her mortal guest.
"Judging by the strength of the spell... About seven years."
Akane went numb with shock. <Seven years?! In seven years I'll be twenty-four years
old! Who knows what could happen at home without me in seven years?> Ranma's face came
unbidden to her mind, and scenes flashed in her mind of him wearing a wedding tuxedo, standing
next to... Ukyo... or Shampoo... or... no, maybe not Kodachi. Not even that pervert Ranma
would be *that* sick. She shook her head, trying to clear the images from her mind. But there
was no avoiding it. The chances of Ranma still being there... being her fiance... after seven years
were practically nil.
<Why am I thinking about Ranma?> she cried silently. <It's not like I could... or that he
likes...>
"You couldn't..." Akane looked at Yuki-onna, tears brimming in her eyes once again.
"You couldn't get me home any sooner than that?"
Yuki-onna shook her head. "There are many other spirits, gods and demons who dwell in
the Kami Plane who might be able to do it faster. But not many of them will be as kindly
disposed towards you as I am." The white woman smiled sadly. "I must confess, one of the
reasons I rescued you from the oblivion of between was because I sensed in you a kindred spirit.
We are alike in many ways, you and I." She reached over and touched Akane's hand with cool
fingers. "Stay with me for a while. I am in need of a body guard, for reasons that will soon
become apparent. I know of your martial arts abilities; they served you well during my test. And
during the time you serve me, I will be able to decipher a way to break the spell that binds you to
this realm."
Akane could think of no alternative. Yuki-onna was her only hope. But seven years..!
"I... I'll stay." she said softly, and tried to ignore the despair that settled into her heart.
Yuki-onna smiled.
-------------------------------------------------------
End Part Two
Next time: The Tengu, and the Search Begins