[Songfic][Ranma]The Search is Over

Songfic by James "Phoenix" Jones

The Ranma 1/2 characters depicted herein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and
	the company that produces them.
The song "The Search is Over" is copyrighted to the band Survivor and the company
	that produced it.
This is a work of Fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.

The Search is Over

[Opening Shot:  The Ucchan.  It is late at night and the only light is coming from a
window on the second story.  As the camera zooms in on the window, we see Ukyou 
silhouetted against the light of a desk lamp.  A small diary is open on her desk and 
she is staring at it intently.  The camera zooms in on the page she is reading and we
find that it is about how bad she feels for wrecking Ranma's wedding.  As she 
finishes the page, we hear a tap on her window.  Ukyou looks up to see Ranma on her
window sill.]

Ukyou [looks very surprised and quickly opens the window]:  Ranchan... what are
you doing here?

Ranma [climbs through the window and takes a seat on the floor]:  Ukyou... I've got
something I wanted to tell you.

[We see Ukyou look away.  Images flash in front of us as she imagines the worst.  She
turns back to see Ranma smiling at her warmly.  All sound moves fades out till all we 
can hear is her heart beat.]

[MUSIC STARTS]

How can I convince you what you see is real
Who am I to blame you for doubting what you feel

[We see Ranma begin to speak as Ukyou's face brightens considerably.  He stands 
quickly and walks toward her, putting his hand on her shoulder.  The camera zooms
in on Ukyou's shocked expression at what he's telling her.]

I was always reachin', you were just a girl I knew
I took for granted the friend I have in you

[We see images flash by of Ranma chasing after Akane as Ukyou stands in the 
background.  More and more images flash by of all the times Ukyou has given Ranma
free food, only to have him run off a few minutes later.  The images flash by one
after the other, alternating between good times and bad.]

I was living for a dream, loving for a moment

[We see Ranma furiously practicing his martial arts techniques while his father 
sits in the background, talking about various points of Ranma's ability.  The scene
changes to a young Ukyou training with her spatula against giant waves by a cliff.  
A moment later, we see SD pictures of both Ukyou and Ranma looking up at the 
stars with tears in there eyes.]

Taking on the world, that was just my style

[Various scene flash by of the fights Ranma and Ukyou get involved in.  Some of
the fights are one on one, but most are Ranma or Ukyou fighting numerous other
people.]

Now I look into your eyes
I can see forever, the search is over
You were with me all the while

[Pan back to show Ukyou gazing up at the camera, tears in her eyes.  Zoom out
to show Ranma raise his hand and carefully wipe the tear away.]

Can we last forever, will we fall apart

[Ranma begins to speak again and we see Ukyou's eyes widen again.]

At times it's so confusing, these questions of the heart
You followed me through changes and patiently you'd wait
Till I came to my senses through some miracle of fate

[We see Ranma and Akane walking silently toward the Tendo Dojo.  Ukyou 
stands in the background, partially hidden by a tree.  The scene changes to Ukyou's
point of view as Ranma and Akane begin to argue.  Akane plants a fist in Ranma's 
stomach, causing him to double over.  As Akane walks away, we see Ukyou run to
Ranma, kneel down and put her arm around his shoulder.  Ranma, seemingly 
unaware of her presence, jumps up quickly and runs after Akane.  Ukyou watches
him leave, and stands slowly.  Her hair whips in the wind as she turns around and 
walks in the opposite direction.]

I was living for a dream, loving for a moment
Taking on the world, that was just my style

[We see Ranma and Akane getting into many more fights.  Each time, Ukyou
is nearby to help Ranma stand up, but each time, Ranma runs after Akane.]

Now I look into your eyes
I can see forever, the search is over
You were with me all the while

[Time passes and eventually Ranma stops running after Akane immediately.  
Finally, he stops running after her at all and turns to thank Ukyou for helping him.]

Now the miles stretch out behind me

[The scene again changes to Ukyou and Ranma talking.  Ranma tells Ukyou 
something and we see the scene begin to shift.  The first picture to take its place
is Ranma walking through the gates of the Kuno Mansion and asking to see Kodachi
The insane gymnast jumps out gleefully toward Ranma.  She is dressed in her
usual leotard, but is minus her ribbon.  She rushes at Ranma, her arms outstretched.
At the last second, Ranma grabs her by the shoulders and holds her at arms length.  
Kodachi's eyes go wide in shock.  Close up on Ranma's mouth as we see his lips
moving.  Almost immediately, Kodachi's face darkens and she begins to yell.  Ranma
repeats what he said and turns around quickly.  He exits the gates before Kodachi 
can stop him.]

Loves that I have lost

[The next scene shows Ranma walking slowly into the Cat Caf�.  Shampoo 
immediately jumps up and grabs him in a fierce hug.  We see Ranma stiffen 
visibly, raising his arms, he pushes firmly out of Shampoo's grip.  Again, we 
see a close-up of Ranma's lips as he tells Shampoo the same thing he said to
Kodachi.  The camera changes to show Shampoo's face as she goes through 
expressions of shock, anger and outrage.  Screaming a battle cry, she pulls
her sword from out of the air and charges.  Zoom in on her surprised face as 
Ranma effortlessly disarms her and holds the sword at her throat.  Shampoo 
gazes at him with pain in her eyes as he repeats his words.  That said, he takes
hold of the sword and breaks it over his knee.  With a final glance back, he
mouths "I'm sorry" to Shampoo and walks out.]

Broken hearts lie victims of the game

[Ranma enters the Tendo Dojo to the sight of an enormous celebration being held.
Soun and Genma are dancing around drunkenly hefting large mugs of beer.  
Kasumi and Nodoka can be seen in the kitchen cooking as Nabiki and Akane are
talking hastily.  As Ranma walks up, Soun dances over to him and pounds him on 
the back.  Nabiki says something and Akane just looks at him skeptically.  Ranma
stands ramrod straight for a moment until a close up of his face reveals him 
saying something.  Immediately, all celebration stops as the family stares at him in 
shock.]

Then good luck it finally struck

[Soun immediately drops his beer and rears his demon's head at Ranma.  To his 
surprise, the younger Saotome does not even flinch.  At this realization, both Soun
and Genma rush Ranma, but he easily sends both of them flying into the wall.  A
moment later, Nodoka rushes out of the kitchen, her face is flush and she is carrying
her Katana.  She says something to Ranma, but he shakes his head calmly, causing her
to begin to draw the weapon.]

Like lightning from the blue

[In a blinding movement, Ranma stops his mother's hand before the weapon is halfway
out of its sheath.  Pan back to show him speaking to Nodoka and her expression soften.
After a moment, she nods and fully sheaths the Katana.  In the background, Genma yells
at her, but a quick glance silences him.  Ranma turns from his mother and walks up to
Akane.  Zoom in on her watery eyes as she shakes her head. Ranma repeats what he said to
Shampoo and Kodachi, and Akane tries to punch him.  He catches it easily and, breaking 
away, she runs into the house.   Turning to the Tendos, Ranma bows and thanks them for
their hospitality.  Turning on his heel, he walks down the hall and exits through the
front door.  Halfway to the gate, the view pans back to show Akane standing silently by 
the gate.  Ranma walks to her and bows in the same fashion he did with Nabiki and Kasumi.
Akane mouths something, but Ranma shakes his head.  She nods sullenly and steps aside.]

Every highway leading me back to you

[The view changes to several moments later, as Ranma is walking down a darkened alley.
He stops suddenly and looks up.  Pan back to show him standing in front of the Ucchan 
staring at the light in Ukyou's window.   He takes a deep breath and vaults to the ledge.  
Looking inside, he sees Ukyou huddled over a small book.  Taking another deep breath,
he tentatively taps his knuckle against the glass.]

Now at last I hold you, now all is said and done
The search has come full circle
Our destinies are one

[The view returns to show Ranma holding Ukyou's shoulders and looking deeply into her
eyes.  A close up of their faces shows that Ranma has a serious expression while Ukyou's 
boarders on hope, joy and confusion.]

So if you ever loved me
Show me that you give a damn

[Close up of Ranma's face as she asks Ukyou something.]

You'll know for certain
The man I really am

[Close up of Ukyou as her eyes widen, surprised by the question.  Her answer is to
rush forward and wrap her arms around him, tears of joy streaming down her face.]

I was living for a dream, loving for a moment
Taking on the world, that was just my style

[Ranma pulls away from Ukyou for a moment and reaches into his pocket.  Ukyou
looks at him curiously as he removes a small object and holds it out to her.  Close up
of Ranma's hand reveals he is holding a small golden ring.  Pan back as Ranma asks 
Ukyou something.  She nods her head in joy.]

Then I touched your hand, I could hear you whisper

[Ranma gently takes Ukyou's hand and raises the ring between his thumb and 
forefinger.  With a deep, nervous breath, he places the ring on her finger.]

The search is over, love was right before my eyes.

[Pan back to show Ranma and Ukyou staring out each other.  Ukyou's face is full
of joy and love, Ranma's mimicking her expression.  As Ranma stretches out his 
arms, Ukyou hugs throws her arms around his neck and holds him tightly.  Leaning 
her head back, she stares deeply into Ranma's eyes before moving slowly forward.
Ranma also stares into her eyes before he too begins to move his head forward.]

[Fade out as their lips touch in a gentle kiss.]

**************************************The End
Another songfic completed!  I hope you all enjoyed it.

***The Disclaimer once again***

-All Ranma 1/2 characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and the company
that produces them.
-The song "Heart of the Matter" belongs to Don Henley and the company that 
produced it.
-Both of these are used without permission, and no copyright infringement is intended.

***End Disclaimer***

This is the second fic of the particular genre I've released.  As with my previous one,
"Heart of the Matter," the song "The Search is Over" has a nice slow beat that you can 
listen to over and over again.  As before, I heard this song and the above scenes just 
seemed to flow into it.

A big thanks to all of you who made comments on my last Songfic.  I'm so glad 
people liked it and it inspired me to continue writing them.  With luck, this will not
be the last Songfic I write.  

I can't explain it really.  Music just has this habit of painting a picture for me, and
although it is not always pertaining to anime, it often does and I just feel like I need
to write it down.  Future works, if people are interested, will of course include more 
Ranma 1/2 work, but will also include Songfics combined with Neon Genesis Evangelion,
and Bubblegum Crisis to name a couple.

For those of you who are waiting for the next part of my Shadowrun/Ranma fic, I
offer my apologies, but until I have a firm idea of how to link what I've got with
what I know I want to write, there won't be any new parts for a while.  Rest assured
though, I am working on it and, God willing, I will finish it someday.

Thanks to all who've read this and I hope you enjoyed it.

C&C will be greatly appreciated, as this is only my second attempt at writing a fic
in script fashion.  All C&C will be replied to as soon as I have time.

James C. Jones aka The Blood Phoenix 		jace@utkux.utcc.utk.edu