Here's the next part...enjoy
Cinders
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
karaohki@snet.net
January 26, 2000
Ranma 1/2 and its universe was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and
belongs to her. This work of fiction was written for entertainment
only, and is not intended for commercial purposes.
Earlier chapters are on www.karaohki.com
Chapter 4
As far as Soun was concerned, the house was unnaturally quiet.
Quiet was not a word normally applied to his home. Ever since the
Saotomes' arrival the house had been filled with noise and life.
With one exception. After Ranma's departure for China, Akane had
disappeared. They'd heard a commotion upstairs, and arrived to find
her window broken, and the room filled with feathers.
After a fruitless search for her, there was nothing for him to do but
wait. The silent vigil that he, Nodoka, Kasumi and Nabiki held lasted
until the miraculous call from China to tell them that Akane was
there, safe and alive.
Now the house was quiet and empty. Nabiki was in school, and Kasumi
had gone to the hospital to see Akane and Ranma.
Akane and Ranma. It was so natural for Soun to think of them that
way.
Nabiki and Ranma. He'd tried saying it aloud, and it just wasn't
right. Why had he been too weak to oppose it?
The more Soun thought about it, the angrier he became. How dare
anyone call his little girl "damaged"?
Then he sagged. He'd seen how badly she was burned. People didn't
recover from those sort of injuries without permanent problems.
Soun put his face in his hands and wept.
*****
"I'm going to do this. I'm going to DO this!"
Akane gritted her teeth and got out of bed. She'd done it once. How
hard could a second time be?
One step. Two steps. Then a voice from behind her.
"Want me to help you?"
"No thanks, Ranma. I want to do it myself. I HAVE to." Akane
continued shuffling toward the bathroom, very much aware that Ranma
was watching her. She was going to prove to him and to the entire
world that she wasn't "damaged". Akane was suddenly aware of Ranma's
close presence behind her, which annoyed her a little bit. Then she
realized he was probably worried about how weak she was, and wanted to
be near enough to catch her if she stumbled. He was still right
behind her when she opened the bathroom door.
"Don't even THINK about following me in here!" she growled. Ranma
chuckled, and she turned around, expecting a smart remark. Instead,
all Ranma did was grin and wave her into the bathroom. When she came
out he was waiting there, leaning on the wall.
Akane was pale and shaking by the time she got back into bed, but
smiling triumphantly. She pushed the button on the pump for pain
medication as Ranma pulled the blankets over her.
"I told you I could do it, and next time I'll be faster. You just
watch!"
Ranma leaned over and kissed his fiancee. "I will."
Akane made a face.
"Ick. Morning breath."
"Sorry!" Thirty seconds later the sound of Ranma brushing his teeth
came from the bathroom. Unfortunately, by the time he returned Akane
had gone back to sleep. He looked at his pump. The light was on, and
he pushed the button. Ranma hated to admit that he hurt, but it was
stupid to refuse to take the medicine that would bring him relief.
Besides that, it wasn't any fun being awake if Akane was asleep.
*****
Two things woke Akane. A voice, and the aroma of something delicious.
Akane recognized both before her eyes shot open. [Kasumi's here, and
she brought miso soup!] The first thing she saw was Ranma with a
steaming bowl of soup in front of him. Normally he would be devouring
it, but Ranma was totally ignoring the soup. He was glaring at
Kasumi.
"Don't talk to me about that woman!"
"But Ranma, your mother--"
"I don't HAVE a mother! If I've gotta make a choice between having
Akane and having a mother, Akane wins!"
Akane reached over and touched Ranma's arm. "What's going on?"
Kasumi jumped in before Ranma could answer. "Akane, please tell him
to listen to me! There's something he doesn't know!"
When Ranma's face twisted into something that combined rage and
despair, Akane reached out and grabbed him on both sides of his head,
forcing him to look at her.
"Please. Just let Kasumi talk. If you still feel the same way when
she's done, I won't fight with you."
Akane watched anxiously as the emotions played across her fiance's
face. There was still anger and misery, but for just a second she was
sure there was a flicker of hope. Ranma closed his eyes and relaxed
his hands, which had been in tight fists. When Ranma's eyes opened
again Akane could see that he had regained his control. He took
Akane's hands from his face and held them.
"Go ahead, Kasumi. I'll listen."
Kasumi looked very relieved.
"Now Ranma, I want you to listen to me, and try not to interrupt.
Don't jump to any conclusions until I finish."
*****
Kasumi had learned a long time ago that food was a calming influence
on Ranma. That was why she'd arrived with breakfast. She poured a
bowl of soup for Akane and gestured at Ranma's bowl, which he still
hadn't touched.
"Eat that before it gets cold."
Ranma, who was still holding Akane's hands, didn't move, and Kasumi
allowed herself a small show of temper.
"I won't start talking until the two of you start eating!"
She had the satisfaction of getting instant obedience.
"I won't go into detail about the argument I had with your mother,
Ranma. Nabiki said she told you the important parts. What really
made me angry was that she didn't seem to think the fact that you two
care about each other was important.
"What was really bothering me was something I saw Auntie Nodoka doing.
I don't think she realized she was doing it, but it made me wonder."
Akane looked totally lost. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry, I was thinking aloud. Every now and then Auntie would
look at her husband. It was just a quick look, as if she was afraid.
He never spoke, not once during our argument, but every time Auntie
would look at him, his face would get very stern. I got this feeling
that he was warning her."
Kasumi stopped talking, and got very red. How was she going to tell
them what she did next? She still didn't believe she'd had the nerve
to go through with it.
"After a while Auntie refused to talk about it any more, and said she
was going home. Daddy had already gone to bed, and so had Nabiki. I
think the both of them were too upset and angry to talk to the
Saotomes any more. I waited two minutes after they left...and then I
put on my coat and followed them."
Ranma and Akane nearly choked on their soup. Kasumi hurried on before
either of them could interrupt her.
"I know what you're thinking. 'Kasumi would NEVER do something like
that!' Well I would, and I did! I followed them all the way home.
Auntie tried to talk once, but Uncle Saotome wouldn't let her. When
they got to the house I sneaked around to the window and listened to
them. They were having an argument."
"What about?"
"Hush, Ranma, and I'll tell you."
Kasumi paused long enough to pour tea for the three of them, and
continued.
"Auntie was very angry. She wanted to know why she had to be the one
to talk Father into breaking the engagement, when it was Uncle
Saotome's idea. She said we would all hate her, when it wasn't her
fault."
Ranma was visibly shaken. "It was Pop's idea? And I've been blaming
Mom?"
"Yes. I was as surprised as you are. But that was nothing compared
to how I felt when Uncle Saotome kept talking. Akane, this is going
to upset you. Please try to stay calm."
One deep breath later, Kasumi continued. "He said that he never liked
Akane, but that he allowed the engagement for two reasons: One, that
Akane was the only martial artist out of the three of us. Two, he
could tell that Ranma had feelings for her. I wanted to go through
the window and kill him."
Only shock prevented Ranma and Akane from responding.
"He said the promise to join the houses had to be kept, and Nabiki
would be the best choice. He thought she would be the perfect one to
keep the dojo solvent while Ranma taught. Auntie objected, because
she knows that Ranma and Nabiki don't love each other, but he told her
that didn't matter. He said all Nabiki had to do was provide him with
a grandchild, and once she'd done that it didn't matter how they got
along. I was still trying to get over that remark when he said that
if Ranma wasn't happy with her, he could take a mistress. Then he
started listing who would do--Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi. That was when I
turned around and went home. I felt sick."
By this time Akane was so distraught that she was shaking. Ranma put
an arm around her for comfort, while trying to keep his own rage down
below the boiling point.
"Uncle never did answer Auntie's question about why he wanted everyone
to think it was her idea to break the engagement, but I think I
figured it out myself. He doesn't want Father to be angry at him."
Ranma nodded. "You might be right. But why didn't Nabiki tell us
about this yesterday?"
"I didn't get to tell her until last night."
"What did she say?"
Kasumi looked a little worried. "She was quiet for a very long time,
and then she smiled, a scary kind of smile. She told me that she had
an idea, but that she wanted to think it through for a while. All I
can tell you is that if I were Uncle Saotome, I'd be scared to death
right now."
*****
"Pop shouldn't be scared of Nabiki. He should be scared of me."
Ranma's hands closed around his teacup with such force that it was in
danger of shattering from the pressure.
"Not if I can get to him first," growled Akane.
Ranma's first thought as he looked at his fiancee was relief that her
anger wasn't directed at him this time. He had never, ever seen her
this furious before. For a split second he felt some sympathy for his
father, but that was quickly dismissed. Whatever was going to happen
to the old man would be no more than he deserved.
"No."
Though the one word was spoken quite softly, it was enough to capture
Ranma's attention. He put the teacup down and looked at Kasumi.
"No?"
"I don't want either of you to do anything until we talk to Nabiki."
"But--"
"Listen to me!"
Ranma gulped. He wasn't used to this kind of behavior from Kasumi. A
glance at Akane showed that she was equally shocked.
"The two of you have too much at risk to start trouble now! Ranma, if
you or Akane let it slip that you know what's going on, they're going
to separate you, I'm sure of it! Take care of the most important
thing first--get married. I'm sure Nabiki's making some kind of plans
for how to handle the family, and if the four of us work together
we'll be okay."
Working with Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane was a new concept to Ranma. All
he wanted to do was pound his father into dust, but Kasumi's argument
that it would do more harm than good was beginning to sink in.
There were a lot of things he needed to think about, and he needed to
do it privately. Ranma picked up his bowl, drank the rest of his
soup, and got out of bed.
"I'm going for a walk. You two can have some girl talk."
*****
"What's wrong with him?" asked Akane.
"Don't you think he has the right to be upset right now?"
Akane shook her head. "Yes, but that's not what I mean. I think he's
got something on his mind."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"I did."
"That's probably because you know Ranma better than any of us."
Kasumi paused, and smiled. "I don't think Ranma left us alone to talk
about him. You look so much better today! How do you feel?"
"I still hurt a lot, but don't you DARE tell Ranma!"
"Is he fussing over you?"
"Yes. It's not that I don't like it, but..."
"But?" Kasumi encouraged Akane with a smile.
"I'm not used to it. He's being so nice to me."
Akane paused, and then the words came tumbling out.
"I'm scared, Kasumi. Everything's happening so fast. First the
wedding, and the f-fire. Ranma asked the priest to marry us in the
ambulance, but why did he?"
Kasumi neatly turned the question around. "Why did you say yes?"
"I was so scared," Akane whispered. "I was sure that I was going to
die. I wanted to be Ranma's wife before it was too late."
"And how do you feel about it now? Do you still want to marry him?"
"More than anything. I love him. But I'm tired. Kasumi."
Kasumi got up and sat on the edge of her sister's bed. She gently put
her arm around Akane's shoulders. "That doesn't hurt, does it?"
"Not enough to matter."
"If you're that tired, do you want me to go home so you can nap?"
"No. Not that kind of tired."
Akane began to sniffle. "I'm tired of this mess! I want my life to
be normal! And...and...I'm not sure..." Akane trained off, unsure of
how to explain to Kasumi what she was feeling.
"You're not sure about Ranma, are you?"
"No," she whispered. "He keeps telling me that he loves me, but--"
Akane bit her lip and closed her eyes. This was harder than she
thought it would be. "I'm afraid that he's just sorry for me."
Akane's sniffles turned into full-blown weeping, and Kasumi gathered
her little sister into her arms and let her cry herself out.
"You're going to have to talk to him, Akane. You can't marry Ranma
with doubts like these. But if you want MY opinion, he wants exactly
what you do. I've been watching him, and I think he's as tired of
this mess as you are." Kasumi smiled as Akane sat up again, looking a
lot more positive than she had a few minutes before.
"You really think so? Sometimes I think the only way we'll get any
peace is if we ran off together."
"So why don't you?"
"KASUMI?"
Kasumi laughed. "I'm not telling you to run away forever. After all,
the house is going to belong to you and Ranma, right? And you do
intend to teach together, don't you?"
"We've never talked about it."
"Then I suggest that you do. Nabiki is doing everything she can to
get you two married, but you'd better not take that step unless you're
absolutely sure you're doing the right thing."
Kasumi got up and began to gather the dishes together and pack them
up.
"I'm going to leave you alone now, but I want you to think about
something. Try to figure out what your life would be like with Ranma
in it, and what it would be like without him. Then I want you two to
talk."
"I will. I promise."
*****
Ranma walked down the hallway until he reached the sitting room. It
was normally used for visitors who needed a place to rest, and he was
relieved to find it empty.
Everything was happening at once, and much too fast. He needed to
catch his breath, and think. He plugged his IV pump into an outlet
next to one of the couches, and sat down.
Images of the past few days flooded his mind, starting with the battle
at Jusendo, where he nearly lost Akane, and ending with the fire,
where he nearly lost her again. So much fighting, so much insanity.
Would it ever end?
Right now he was very worried about Akane. He'd never seen her so
fragile. He had always admired her strength, even if it was directed
against him in the form of violence when she got angry. Now he barely
recognized her as the Akane he loved. She'd shown a couple of sparks
of her old self, first with her insistence on walking to the bathroom
on her own, and second with her display of anger when she discovered
the old man's true feelings about her. Hopefully, that meant she
would get better. Her quietness and bouts of weeping were scaring
him, especially since she was trying to hide some of her crying from
him by waiting until she thought him asleep.
Ranma closed his eyes and forced himself to keep going. There was
something that bothered him more than anything else, and he was having
trouble facing it.
Would Akane be better off with him, or without him? He wanted her,
more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life.
"Yeah, and look where that's gotten us," he murmured. "We've had
nothing but trouble."
Nothing but trouble, but did it have to be that way? Maybe he should
just take her away somewhere quiet, where they could start all over.
"Sure, the famous Saotome-running-away trick. Damn it, Ranma, you're
a coward!" [And if anyone comes in here and finds me talking to
myself, they'll think I'm crazy.]
No. It was time to ask Akane what she really thought. If she wanted
to be with him, then they had to be strong. Together. Ranma knew
that there would always be a new challenge--to him, to Akane, or to
the dojo. That meant Akane had to be willing to live with the
unexpected. Was she willing? Again, he had to ask, or he would never
know.
Ranma opened the door and bumped directly into Kasumi.
"Sorry! Did I hurt you?"
Kasumi shook her head. "No, I'm okay. Are you?"
Ranma nodded. "You're leaving already?"
"I'll come back tonight, with Father." Kasumi hesitated, then put her
hand on Ranma's arm.
"I think you and Akane need to talk."
"I know, but I'm no good at that! I always say the wrong thing, and
then we fight."
Kasumi dragged Ranma back into the sitting room. "Do you love my
sister?"
Ranma turned bright red, and nodded.
"Then you'd better learn to talk to her, or you won't have ANY chance
of a future together!"
Before Ranma could recover enough to respond, Kasumi turned around and
walked out.
Ranma returned to the couch and thought some more. Even if she hadn't
said so, Kasumi thought he and Akane should be together. The way he
was healing, Ranma knew that he would be out of the hospital long
before Akane was.
That was when the pressure would start. His father would probably
tell him about his engagement to Nabiki the second he got home.
If things worked as planned, he and Akane would be married by then.
Somehow they had to keep that a secret until she got out of the
hospital.
What then? If they walked into the house and announced that they were
married, all hell would break loose. His father would probably try to
get it annulled.
[I can't figure it out. Kasumi's right--we need Nabiki to help us out
here. But I still have to talk to Akane.]
*****
Akane opened her jar of salve and began applying it. It was nearly
empty, but Shampoo was due later in the day with more.
Kasumi had given her a lot to think about. She had to face the fact
that loving Ranma Saotome was not something a coward could do.
Trouble was something that had always followed Ranma, and it was
unlikely that it would ever be different.
Could she live with it? Kasumi had advised her to think about both
alternatives. Maybe she should start with the other. Could she live
without it...without Ranma?
Her imagination began to take over. A life in an undamaged house,
where no enemies were breaking holes in the walls. Being able to walk
down the street without someone screaming "Die, Ranma!" or attacking
her because of her engagement to him.
Coming home to a house without the most important person in her life
there. Opening the door to the guest room to find it empty.
She forced her mind away from the image and began to think again.
What about school? School. An image of the crowd of boys at the
gates, the way it used to be, made Akane cringe.
Then she looked at herself. She was in the middle of rubbing salve
into her arms. The blisters had gone down, leaving her with red
wrinkled areas where they had been. The skin was thin and sensitive,
and she had to exercise extreme care when she applied the medicine.
What would she look like when the burns finally healed? Perhaps she
would be so ugly that none of the boys would even bother chasing her.
Ranma had said she looked better. He'd said that she was HIS Akane,
and he didn't care about the burns. He'd said he loved her. Was that
the truth, or was he saying it to make her feel better?
Akane wiped the back of her hand across her stinging eyes. Ranma had
to be telling the truth. He was the worst liar she knew.
As far as Akane could see, being without Ranma meant being pretty
miserable. What about being with him?
Unless Ranma could do something to change it, he was going to have
trouble with girls. He just seemed to attract them, even though he
didn't try to. Akane could finally admit that to herself. Ranma
didn't chase girls. They chased him.
Shampoo and Ukyo had finally gotten the message. As far as Kodachi
was concerned, Akane still expected trouble from her. That slap might
discourage her for a day or two, but she'd be back.
Would it be different once they were married? Akane knew that a
wedding ring on a man's finger made him even more desirable to some
girls. She involuntarily made a fist. If anyone came near her
husband...
Husband. Was that what she really wanted? Ranma for a husband? What
would it be like?
Akane pictured herself living in her home, with Ranma. Once they
finished school Ranma might want to begin teaching with her. Then
again, he'd spent so much time as a wandering martial artist he might
wish to do that again. If so, would he want her to go with him?
Would she want to go?
What about all the enemies Ranma had made through the years? Akane
had become accustomed to the strangest people showing up on the
doorstep, looking for a fight, and if they weren't showing up at the
dojo, they were attacking Ukyo or Shampoo, and Ranma felt obligated to
step in. She expected he'd always be that way--ready to help where he
was needed.
Akane forced herself to look at that honestly. She would be
disappointed in Ranma if he didn't help, and in herself if she didn't
do what she could to help too.
The more she looked at both options, the more she realized that she
would take Ranma, craziness and all, over being alone.
Now if she could find the courage to tell him, and to ask him what he
truly felt.
There was a sound at the door and Akane looked up, expecting to see
Ranma. Instead, a pleasant-looking woman stood there.
"Hello, Akane. I'm Miki. Can I come in?"
*****
Ranma saw a woman entering his and Akane's room as he was coming down
the hallway. When he got to the doorway, the woman was taking a chair
next to his fiancee.
"Hello. You must be Ranma. My name is Miki."
"Are you the burn counselor the doctor told me about?"
Miki nodded. Ranma wheeled his IV stand over to the bedside, plugged
it in, and got into bed. Akane just sat there looking confused.
"You knew about her, Ranma? The doctor didn't mention this to me."
"This was after they sedated you last night, Akane."
"Oh." For a second, Akane felt the stirrings of anger because Ranma
hadn't told her about the fact that a counselor was coming to see
them. Then she forced herself to be sensible about it. Maybe she
needed to talk to a professional.
"I don't know where to start."
"That's all right. Your doctor told me that you were concerned about
how you look. Is that right?"
Akane nodded mutely. Ranma though she was going to cry.
"I know this isn't much to go by, but I want to show you something."
Miki rolled up her left sleeve, and pointed to a mark on her forearm.
It was a pale brown mark a couple of inches long.
"I went into counseling a few years ago, and have talked to a lot of
burn victims. My training taught me a lot, but I didn't know all of
the truth about the pain you go through until I burned myself."
Akane took a closer look at the mark, and Ranma leaned over to see it.
"That doesn't look so bad," he remarked. "How long ago did you burn
yourself?"
"About nine months. I was draining a pot of noodles, and the phone
rang. I turned my head to look at it, and my forearm touched the side
of the pot."
Akane winced. "Ouch."
"Yes. I ran cold water on it for a long time, but it blistered
anyway. What I couldn't believe was how such a small burn could hurt
so much! Eventually the blister shrank, but I was left with ripples
on the skin---much like the ones the two of you have. I had to be
very careful of it, because the skin was so delicate. Besides that,
it itched and I had to try very hard not to scratch it."
Both Ranma and Akane nodded. They knew exactly what Miki meant.
"Eventually I began to heal. I watched the burn very carefully,
because I wanted to see how long it would take to fade. You can
barely see it now, but it's fading so slowly I expect it will be
around for a couple of months more."
Akane looked at herself, and then at Miki. "So I'm going to look
really bad for at least a year..." Her words trailed off and she
turned away.
[Oh no,] thought Ranma. [Here we go again.] He leaned over to Akane,
and gently touched her arm.
"Akane, turn around. Please."
He held his breath, hoping she would listen. A few seconds later
Akane turned around.
"I told you I didn't care about the burns. They're going to get
better."
"People are going to stare at me."
"Let em! That's THEIR problem!"
Miki tried to suppress her giggle, but wasn't quite successful.
"Akane, with Ranma here you don't need me! That's exactly what I was
going to say. I talked with your doctor, and he said the both of you
are doing just fine. You need to be positive, and you need to be
patient. Will you?"
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief when Akane responded. "I'll try."
"Tomorrow I'd like to introduce you to a couple of my other patients.
I think it would do you good."
"Are you going to bring them here?"
"No, Akane. You're going to visit them."
Ranma saw Akane go white.
"I don't want to."
"You don't want to see them?"
"No. I don't want to go out of the room."
Miki gently patted Akane's hand. "You can't hide in here forever.
Don't be afraid, Akane."
"Ranma? You'll come with me?"
"Of course I will! Did you think I'd let you out of my sight?"
"Then I'll come."
Ranma didn't miss the look of gratitude from Miki as she got up.
"I'll make the arrangements, then. See the both of you tomorrow."
Her footsteps had barely died away when both Ranma and Akane spoke at
the same time.
"We need to talk."
Comments welcome, as always - public, private or both
karaohki@snet.net
read earlier chapters at www.karaohki.com
Thanks to everyone who read and commented on this as it was being
written:
Andrew, Robert, Vince, Scott, and Brad