------------------------------------------------------
Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Ch. 3 of Part 4)
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Three: The Littlest Tendo

"Dr. Tofu!"

Ranma dodged around an old woman and a middle aged man in the doctor's
waiting room. They shot him odd looks, but Ranma ignored them, pushing
through a door to where Dr. Tofu was examining a patient.

"Dr. Tofu, it's Akane, she's..." Finally catching his breath, Ranma
stopped, feeling surprise at actually seeing the doctor busy. A
belated feeling of childishness passed over him, and he took a step
back towards the door. A boy, maybe his age, was sitting on the padded
doctor's table. His right leg, with the pant leg rolled up to the mid
thigh, hung limply over the edge, the knee and shin bandaged heavily.
He looked at Ranma, nervous and surprised, as Dr. Tofu stood and
slowly turned to Ranma. To his relief, he didn't appear to be mad.
Instead, he took in Ranma and Akane swiftly, then nodded. A frown
graced his face as he approached Ranma.

"I'm busy right now, Ranma, but...what happened to Akane?" he asked,
looking as though he were going to tell him to wait, but then fell
victim to curiousity and concern for one of his long term patients.
Looking down at her face, Ranma tried to figure out how to piece the
words together, and found when his voice came back out again that it
was not quite as determined and in control as he'd like.

"It's a long story. Basically...her battle aura was taken, and given
back to her. Violently."

"Her aura? But...okay, take her to the closest patient room, and lay
her on the bed. She doesn't have any physical injuries, does she?"
Ranma had to consider that. He hadn't actually watched her fall; his
first concern had been for Ukyo, then Shampoo, and he berated himself
mentally for that. Even if he had been cursed, he should have still
thought of her. He knew he should have.

"No injuries. She was sitting, then keeled over." Dr. Tofu sighed with
apparent relief, then put his arm on Ranma's shoulder, gently pushing
him out the door.

"Lay her on the bed with her head on a pillow, and wait for me. If
anything changes, come get me immediately. But first...just to make
sure...hold her up and away from your body, Ranma." Complying, Ranma
held Akane's limp form up, one of her arms escaping and dangling
lifelessly by her side. With a frown, Dr. Tofu poked and prodded
around her neck, abdomen, back, chest and head. To Ranma's relief, he
nodded and gestured for Ranma to leave.

"She doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger, though now I'm
curious to hear the whole story. Go over there, and wait. Oh, and
Ranma...have a drink of water, okay? You look parched."

"Yessir," said Ranma quickly, already making his way to the room with
Akane. The two people who had been in the waiting room glared at him,
though quickly averted their eyes once they got a better look at the
unconscious girl in his arms.

_Yeah, that's right...bit more of a problem then you have._

He ignored them, heading for the room and putting Akane down gently on
the bed. She had been there a few times before. Once, most recently,
when she had broken her leg. That had been...a few months ago? Half a
year? He wasn't sure, and felt an odd, quiet feeling come over him as
he eased a pillow under her head and gently positioned her arms to lay
at her sides. It was like he was in a church, he realized. Like he
wasn't supposed to say anything, and he was supposed to behave a
certain way.

Ranma had never been fond of churches.

"You heard that, right Akane? You're okay. So you're just gonna rest
here, and wait, and I'm gonna sit over in this chair, and..."

"Well that's good to hear. Would have been nicer to know she was
knocked unconscious to begin with, and to know you were taking my
sister here. But since you were doing it all with Akane's well-being
in mind, I can let it slide. This time."

Surprised at the sudden voice and not immediately recognizing it,
Ranma turned his head quickly to see Nabiki entering the room. Her
expression was calm, though her face flickered to light concern when
she looked away from Ranma to take in Akane. Guilty feelings came to
surface, but he tried to suppress them. He hadn't meant to keep Nabiki
out of the loop, or leave without her. He had just completely
forgotten she existed.

"You can save the whole story for when Dr. Tofu gets here. I know it
can be tiring to repeat things, and frankly, by the end of the day
I'll probably be tired of hearing it too. Give me the short version.
What happened, why, and how is she?" Nabiki's voice was cold and hard
as she walked over to the other side of the bed, arms crossed, her
eyes peering down at her sister. They betrayed her, though only to
those who were familiar with the manipulative girl. All her talk right
now was a cover; Ranma was sure she was just as worried about Akane as
he was.

Looking back at Akane, he noticed a few hairs had fallen over her
face. But he restrained himself from moving them, in the presence of
Nabiki. Instead, as though sensing his thoughts Nabiki reached a hand
to gently brush away the hairs. Her hand lingered on her sister's
forehead, as though checking her temperature, then she took her hand
away. Hesitantly.

"Gosunkugi gave me back my aura...and then he was s'posed to give
Akane's back to her. But then I sensed a heavy battle aura from
outside the room. Shampoo...she was gonna barge in, I didn't know what
she was gonna do yet, I didn't even know it was her, but her aura was
flaring so much that I could feel it, through the wall. So I yelled to
get Ukyo's attention, and Shampoo was stopped before she attacked
anyone. In the process...well, Gosunkugi was giving Akane her aura
back. Halfway there, and then somewhere in between my yellin' and leap
to the door, and Shampoo's bargin' in, he panicked. And her aura was
shoved back into her, too hard. Akane was knocked out. Later, after
the other curses were removed, I took 'er here."

Nabiki watched intently as he spoke. He didn't want to say the parts
where he had been an idiot, where his protection had been aimed
elsewhere, but he said as much as he had to. Looking at Nabiki firmly,
he dared her to question him and his motives. But instead she nodded,
looking down to Akane again.

"Shampoo was going to attack Gosunkugi," she said quietly.

"You knew?"

"Ryoga told me."

"Oh. Well...Ukyo told us, too, but she said it too late." He had been
mad at his childhood friend for that, but it had lasted only a moment.
Still, he had lashed out too, before, and he knew she was still upset
about it.

_Feh, she'll get over it...she should know I wasn't thinking
straight..._

"Stupid. But...the damage is already done. I wonder why she didn't say
it right out...," Nabiki was saying idly. "No matter, we can't do
anything about it now. And I should call home...they haven't had an
update in a few hours, and they'll be worried."

_Oh man, what am I gonna tell Akane's father? He's gonna be so pissed
at me...and Mom...she'll be disappointed..._

As Nabiki left the room, his hand stretched unconsciously, moving to
Akane's face. Carefully, he traced the line of her cheekbone with the
back of his fingers. Her face was so smooth, and still warm. The
warmth reassured him, but not completely.

_Akane...hurry up and get better okay? Just do it...for me..._

Nabiki came back not five minutes later; much faster then he thought
she would. He was still standing over his fiancee, staring at her face
as though hypnotized. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her, not
for a moment. If he hadn't earlier, he reasoned, she wouldn't have
been in this mess in the first place.

_If I'd waited before I jumped up...but then Shampoo might've gotten to
Gosunkugi faster...arg. There had to be another way around this.
Stupid Gosunkugi..._

He could feel his battle aura flare up faintly, then realized that it
had been up for a few minutes and pushed it back down. Nabiki stood
silently where she had been before, and touched Akane's arm. Ranma
sighed, gave Akane's face a hard, probing look, then looked away.

He'd have to do a lot of talking now, and that glass of water Dr. Tofu
had told him to get was starting to sound good.

"They're coming?" he asked, looking up at Nabiki. Of course they were
coming. They had probably nearly forgotten to put down the phone in
their haste to get there.

"They'll be here soon."

"Watch her. I'll be right back," he said, walking out of the room to
get water.

"Huh? But this is a hospital bedroom. She'll be-"

"Just do it Nabiki," he growled, leaving the room. Nabiki didn't
answer, but he didn't think she would. All he wanted was to make sure
Akane was still safe, irrational as it was. All he was doing was
getting a drink. But even in doing that, he felt like he was doing a
poor job in protecting again.

_Don't be an idiot._

Getting a glass of water from the small kitchen that was in Dr. Tofu's
personal quarters, he walked back to the room quickly, taking a large
gulp of the liquid. It felt good; he could feel it going down his
throat, his esophagus, all the way down to his stomach. He realized he
was hungry too, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to eat, just then.
Walking back into he room, he saw that Nabiki was still standing at
the same place. Ranma put his glass down at a small table and stood by
the bed, arms crossed, watching Akane. His expression was hard, and
determined; he wasn't going to let anything touch Akane. Not here, not
now, not ever again.

"See, she's fine. I think I heard a fly come into the room, but it
didn't attack her," said Nabiki, clearly knowing that she was walking
on thin ice. Ranma glared at her, hands in fists.

"Not funny," he said, looking into her cold, hard brown eyes. She
shook her head slowly, then looked down at Akane as though not having
expected the glare.

_Stupid. Why is she making jokes at a time like this..._

"I know. But you need to relax, Ranma. Slipping into the cranky,
possessive guardian role is not going to help Akane." Sensing that she
may be right, and hating it, Ranma turned to look at Akane again.
She'd probably agree with Nabiki, but he didn't care.

"What do YOU know 'bout it?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said, her voice sarcastic. Ranma didn't say
another word, but forced himself to calm down. Nothing was going to
attack Akane. Not with him there, at least. Letting out a long stream
of air through his nose, he turned around to face the door. He had to
get ready for the others to show up, now. And for Dr. Tofu to get
back.

* * *

Their families did show up before Dr. Tofu, even, and piled into the
room. Kasumi and Mr. Tendo went straight for Akane, Soun plunging into
a selfless wail as tears flooded his face, concern for his youngest
daughter quite obvious. Kasumi, although concerned, merely touched
Akane's head and face as Nabiki had, then sought to console her
father. He was sitting in a chair in a corner, crying still. Kasumi
tended to him, shooting worried looks at her youngest sister in
between attention given to their father.

Ranma's parents, after quickly assessing the situation, had ushered
Ranma to one side of the room. His father, overbearing as usual, had
questioned the situation, questioned how Ranma could let it happen to
Akane. But he refused to say anything yet; he had pushed away from
him, wanting to tell everyone at once.

Much more subtle and effective, his mother had merely put a comforting
hand on his shoulder, and reassured him in soothing tones. She was
standing behind him now, one hand on his shoulder still as he watched
Akane. Nabiki was out of the room, fetching Dr. Tofu so he could hear
the story with the rest of them. All was silent except for the quiet
sobs of Akane's father. They stabbed at Ranma's heart, making him feel
all the more ashamed, and all the more determined to protect Akane
from future harm.

The near silence was disturbed as the door opened slowly, a brown
haired girl and a taller, brown haired man with glasses and a labcoat
walking in. Nabiki and Dr. Tofu. Ranma noted how Nabiki wisely blocked
his view of Kasumi, immediately taking him instead to Akane's side.
His eyes had started to look at the others in the room, but once fixed
on the patient, remained. Ranma sighed with relief; Dr. Tofu's
infatuation with Kasumi often distracted him, and he didn't want
anymore distractions now.

"Nabiki says we're all ready for your explanation, Ranma," said Dr.
Tofu, his eyes going from Akane's closed lids to his own dark blue
ones. Feeling put on the spot, Ranma stiffened his posture, and
nodded.

"It started with a note..."

The story was easier to tell once he got into it. He had few
interruptions; the occasional question from Mr. Tendo, and his own
father, and that was it. Dr. Tofu had taken on a thoughtful
expression, which had darkened as he elaborated about the curses.
Nabiki shook her head from time to time, distractedly looking through
a bag of things Kasumi had brought for Akane. The others wore frowns,
and he felt his mother's grip tighten a few times on his shoulder as
he continued.

"...so then I picked her up, and carried her here," finished Ranma,
gesturing to Akane unnecessarily. All eyes were on her again. Dr. Tofu
touched her head, gently moving some hair as his fingers felt behind
her ears, then to her cheeks. Pulling away, he frowned, shaking his
head slowly.

"What is it doctor? What's wrong with my Akane?" wailed Mr. Tendo from
behind him.

"I can't be sure just yet...I've only heard of a few cases of things
like this happening. Hit by her own aura..." His eyes appeared to bore
through Akane's skull, as though trying to see into her head. Slowly,
he looked down to her shoulders, her waist, all the way to her toes,
then back up again. His expression remained concerned, and Ranma
realized he was looking at her ki. Her aura.

"She seems perfectly fine, physically, and there is nothing on her ki
that would suggest otherwise. Which leads me to one conclusion; her
body has gone into shock. Akane...is most likely in a coma. I'll need
to keep her here for a few days for tests, but for now...that's my
diagnosis." The room came to life with concern, begging for solutions,
for a cure, for answers, but Ranma stayed silent, watching Akane.

_A coma...? So she's okay? But she's still not here..._

Suddenly unaware of everyone else in the room, Ranma reached forward
and grabbed Akane's hand. It was soft, and very small in his large,
calloused hand. Small, and delicate he realized. So delicate. He
watched her with hard eyes, barely hearing the buzzing in the room. He
felt as though he had gone back to the nothingness again, that Cologne
had taught him earlier. Was Akane in the nothingness too, now? He
couldn't really see, or feel, or hear; his senses were dulled. There
was nothing. Nothing except Akane, and looking at her, his eyes were
beginning to blur.

Then he noticed the voices were starting to fade, to move. Without
looking up, he began to regain knowledge of what was going on in the
room. Someone was ushering out the others; the hand left his shoulder
after patting him softly, but Ranma couldn't move. He was frozen in
his blurry eyed stare. Slowly, he listened as everyone else left the
room, leaving Ranma alone with Akane.

Only then did he move, and that was to hold her hand tighter.

* * *

Pushing everyone else out of the room, including her own father whose
eyes lingered on Akane, Nabiki walked out quickly then closed the door
behind her. She had been the first to see the light in Ranma's eyes
fade, when Dr. Tofu had mentioned the possibility of the coma. Others
had picked up on it as well; Kasumi, her dad, the doctor, but everyone
noticed once he had picked up Akane's hand.

_He never shows affection like that in public...he must be really
upset..._

Nabiki wasn't one to be sentimental, but she did still understand
human feelings. She knew that right now, Ranma needed to be alone with
Akane; everyone else could go to another room to hear the rest of the
news. Talking in low voices, they made their way to the waiting room,
the people who had been there earlier now gone.

"I want her here for at least a night or two, for observation. One or
more of you is free to stay as well, but I wouldn't recommend you all
wait; it's not healthy for you, and it's not going to make things go
any faster," Dr. Tofu was saying, as she and Mr. Tendo joined them.

"I could stay, and help," offered Kasumi. The wild look that appeared
in Dr. Tofu's eyes as he looked towards Nabiki's older sister was a
clear indication that that was not a good idea.

"You'd better not, Kasumi. We'll need you at home," said Nabiki
quickly.

"Yes, Kasumi...I would stay myself, but...," began Mr. Tendo, briefly
stopping the tears long enough to speak. He still looked to be in the
throws of depression, and Nabiki moved her eyes from him.

_That's another one to go home and have a good cry in his bed...and as
much as I care about Akane, I can't stay here._

"Ranma will stay," said Nadoka suddenly, her eyes down as though she
didn't like the announcement.

"But doesn't he have school? And what about training?" argued Ranma's
father.

"Dear...you saw the look on his face in there. I'm not saying he'll
stay because I'm nominating him. I'm saying it because that's how it
is. We might be able to tear him away, after a while, for school and
training, but for right now...you spent much more time with our son
then I have. You should know," she said, her voice soft yet quickly
cowing Mr. Saotome into a short mutter, then silence.

"Dr. Tofu...what can we do for Akane, in the meantime?" asked Nabiki.
She always hated uncomfortable silences, and waiting. She wanted to do
something, to act. Waiting for so long earlier with Kuno and Kodachi
still had her on edge.

"Make sure she's comfortable. Maybe change her out of those clothes.
That's about it. Ranma did the right thing, bringing her here as soon
as he could," said Dr. Tofu, rubbing his chin.

"Hey, Kasumi?" asked Nabiki, looking to her older sister. Her face was
still bordering on pleasant, though Nabiki knew that was mostly an
attempt to keep their father from going over the edge with worry. If
Kasumi ever looked upset...Nabiki had wondered, before, if that was
maybe a sign of a coming apocalypse.

"Yes?"

"We'll give Ranma another minute, then go in and change her clothes."
Seeing the logic in the plan, Kasumi nodded. Leaning against the wall,
Nabiki sighed, and looked at her watch. She couldn't believe it was
still the same day. Her bones ached for sleep, even though she had
spent a lot of it sitting down.

She heard the others talk, ask questions, and finally Dr. Tofu had to
leave as another patient showed up. Nabiki looked at her watch again
and was irritated to see that only ten minutes had gone by. Why was
time going slowly again? Ranma hadn't come out yet. Sighing, she
looked over at Kasumi, her eyes conveying words that sisters didn't
have to say. Slowly, Kasumi got up and said a few comforting words to
their father. That done, she walked to Nabiki, bag in hand, and they
headed back to the room.

"Ranma? We're coming in," said Nabiki, opening the door. She had even
knocked first, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe to give him time to
compose himself, to pull up the mask of confident, unaffected calm
that he usually wore so proudly. But even as they walked in he still
looked upset. He did look at them this time at least; his eyes still
sad, and determined. And lost. Nabiki swallowed hard, as her and
Kasumi walked up to he bed.

"We're going to change her clothes, Ranma," said Kasumi in a low
voice.

"Okay." But he didn't move. Raising an eyebrow, Nabiki shot him a
meaningful look, then grabbed Kasumi's bag and held it at eye level.

"Ranma? Try listening before you say okay. We're going to change her
clothes," she said, a touch louder then Kasumi. She knew she had
gotten through, though, as Ranma flushed and released Akane's hand.

"Oh. I'll...uhh...yeah," he said, walking out quickly. His hand
hesitated at the door, but soon it was closed. Wordlessly, Kasumi
pulled down the shades on the windows and began taking articles out of
the bag, draping them over the chair. Akane's favourite yellow flannel
pants; a pair of thin, white socks with matching panties; white
slippers that she probably wouldn't get to use in a long while;
Akane's usual sleep shirt, yellow as well, and sleeveless.

Nabiki found herself shivering as she watched Kasumi lay out the
clothing. It was motherly, but at the same time, so methodical. Almost
unconcerned. She didn't even notice that she wasn't moving until
Kasumi had walked over to her, and looked at her with curiosity.

"Nabiki? You're usually more together then this. Are you alright?" Her
voice smooth as honey. Nabiki shook her head, trying to get herself
out of her stupor, but found it wasn't that easy.

"Oh my...Nabiki...you have been holding it all in." Kasumi shook her
head and reaching up to touch Nabiki's face gently.

"No, no...I know she'll be okay...it's alright."

_Oh god, is that my voice? I sound like such a child..._

Kasumi stroked her hair tenderly, and Nabiki was suddenly aware of the
height difference, and the age difference. Despite that Kasumi was
older by only two years, she felt so much younger then her. And less
mature, at that moment. Less together.

_But I'm supposed to be the together one..._

"Shh. Dr. Tofu said she will be just fine. We need to change Akane out
of her sweaty dress and into her clean, comfortable pyjamas. Won't you
help?" Her voice was so soothing, and Nabiki hated it and loved it at
the same time. She didn't want to be soothed. She wanted to be in
control.

Looking over at her other sister's comatose form, she felt another
shiver come over her. The three of them were so...different. Did Akane
think she was the most together too? The strongest? Certainly Akane
was the strongest of them physically, but mentally? Or did she know it
was really Kasumi, when it came down to the testing? Would Akane even
want her there now, helping her change? She had only been irritating
her little sister, lately.

"Of course I'll help."

"Oh, good. Put her clothes in this bag, as you take them off. I'll
wash them when we get home."

And then the two were silent.

Nabiki tried to keep her thoughts from invading her mind, but they
came unbidden. It had been a while since the three of them had been
together, alone like this. Even with Akane out of commission at the
moment, they were still together. It felt so oddly commonplace; as
though they were all kids again, and Akane had worn herself out
running. Nabiki could pretend that Akane had fallen asleep in her
clothes, as she had done many times when they were kids. And then
Kasumi, still the boss even as a child, would urge her to pick up her
little sister; put her in bed, take off her shoes and socks and make
her comfortable. Nabiki would pout as she did so, jealous that Akane
had so much energy to run around. Akane had been the apple of her
father's eye; the one with the gift in the art. Kasumi was the oldest,
and thus the most loved and respected. But Nabiki...

_Middle child angst? Aren't I above that, now?_

Carefully, she undressed her younger sister, giving Kasumi Akane's
clothes as she went. The articles were folded carefully and put into
Kasumi's plastic bag; Nabiki tried not to look at Akane's pale, pale
skin as they continued, Nabiki lifting up the appropriate limbs as
Kasumi put on her underclothes, then tshirt, then pants and finally
her socks. When they were done, Kasumi neatly placed the white, fuzzy
slippers beside the bed, then stood beside Nabiki near Akane's head.

"Thank you, Nabiki," said Kasumi pleasantly, reaching forward to fix a
few creases and wrinkles in Akane's clothing. "Now we just need to
brush her hair."

"Oh...right...you have it?" Nabiki carefully picked up Akane's upper
body and held her in a sitting position. She was like a big doll,
right now; so limp. It was odd to see Akane limp, when she was so
strong.

"I do." Kasumi walked over to the table, then back with Akane's
hairbrush in hand. Nabiki held Akane by the shoulders as Kasumi
slowly, methodically brushed their sisters dark blue hair. Humming a
tune, Kasumi seemed unconcerned as always, and Nabiki felt the urge to
reprimand her for it but wasn't quite sure why. Wasn't Akane alright?
And this was the best they could do for her?

"There, much better. You may put her back," said Kasumi, stepping back
as she patted down the short, now brushed hair. Nabiki obeyed, then
stepped back to look at her again. She didn't look as worn out as she
had earlier; moving her around had caused blood to circulate further,
and now she looked warmer, and her face less pale.

"She looks like she's sleeping."

"She is. In a way. I don't know much about comas, but...essentially,
she is sleeping," said Kasumi.

"We should let Ranma back in here. He's probably going crazy out
there...," said Nabiki, heading for the door. Kasumi just smiled,
gathering together all the pieces to take home and leaving a few of
Akane's things on the table. Her hairbrush, a toothbrush, other small
toiletries.

"It's alright to be upset, Nabiki." Nabiki stopped, slumping her
shoulders, and turned around.

"It's easier when I don't let myself."

"I know."

With those small, quiet words, the two left the room, allowing Ranma
to rush back in and reclaim his place beside their sister.

_She knows, does she...ugh, Kasumi...knows me and doesn't at the same
time._

* * *

_What's going on? How long was I zoned out for?_ The voice chuckled
eerily with her own mental vocals.

"I trust you've rested well. The questions are back."

_I wouldn't call it resting._

"Neither would I, if I had taken more time to choose my words. Your
body is fine...you've been looked at by the doctor, and your sisters
just finished changing your clothes."

_My sisters? How are they? Are they worried?_

"Fine. Kasumi has lost herself in duty, and is eating up anything
optimistic that Dr. Tofu says about you. Nabiki...she's fine, but she
seems to be fighting herself emotionally. You don't always get along
with Nabiki, do you?"

_...not always. Lately she's been too nosy, and we've fought._

"Well they're gone now. Ranma's back at your side, I can feel him."

_...Ranma..._

"Shh, it's okay Akane."

_Heh...now you sound like Kasumi..._

"Now that's interesting. Maybe..."

_What?_

"...never mind..."

* * *

Ranma watched as the father of her fiancee slowly, finally, left the
room, Kasumi guiding his shoulder gently. The feeling of relief was
odd, but short; he had nothing to say to Akane's father that would
help the situation, and he doubted either was having a good time
standing at Akane's bedside, trying to sort out something to say.
Everyone else had gone home soon after Akane's clothing had been
changed, saying they would be back tomorrow. Only Ranma, Mr. Tendo and
Kasumi had stayed another hour, waiting around the bed in mostly
silence. It was maddening, frustrating, and most of all depressing.
Not that he thought having Mr. Tendo and Kasumi gone would suddenly
make things better; he didn't think anything would make it better, not
like that. But it certainly would make the silence easier to deal
with.

"Looks like it's just us now. Mom said she'd come back with stuff for
me. Snd schoolbooks. Feh. Like I'm in any mood to study," he told the
unconscious Akane, pulling the small, wooden chair that was against
the wall over to the bed so he could sit while still being within an
arm's length of her. Although he was now out of the initial shock, the
protective instinct was still heavy; he didn't want to let Akane out
of his sight for even a second. It seemed the others had expected that
too, as no one had even flinched when he announced he was staying the
night. An unnecessary move, maybe, but he knew he wouldn't be able to
sleep tonight anyway. It was just too...weird, without Akane. He
didn't want to go back to the Tendo house without her.

"And no, I'm not gettin' any ideas." He could practically hear her
calling him a pervert for wanting to spend the night in a room with
her. Somehow though, he was fairly certain Akane wouldn't mind, in
this situation. As long as all he was doing was protecting.

"I hope Mom brings some manga too. It's gonna be a long night," he
said, looking at Akane out of the corner of his eye. What was it that
Kasumi had told him earlier? Not to worry, she was just sleeping?

_Feh. Sleeping...even I don't sleep like that...Akane always has a hard
time waking me up...but I don't think anyone could wake up Akane
now..._

Frowning sadly, he averted his eyes and let out a long, low sigh. This
was definitely an odd situation. Normally when Akane was in trouble,
there was something he could do to get her out of it. A journey to
make, ordeals to go through, obstacles to obliterate. There was a
goal, and a path, and specific things to do. Heck, there were usually
maps. But this time...he was powerless. He could protect her,
certainly, but from what? No one was out to get her. No one was trying
to steal her from him, kidnap her, or change her into anything against
her will. She was just in a coma. Leaving Ranma completely helpless.
It was depressing, and frustrating, and made Ranma almost wish there
was a challenge instead. At least there, her getting better depended
on the speed in which he succeeded. Now...he could do anything, or
nothing, and it probably wouldn't help. Dr. Tofu wasn't even
completely certain it was a coma yet. That had just been his initial
diagnosis.

"Ya picked a bad time to go out, too. We've got things to talk about.
Shampoo's gone, but not for long...we need to be outta here before she
gets back. Or somethin'...maybe just..." Even with her unconscious, he
couldn't say the word. Married. Mostly because he didn't even know if
that was the solution yet. His face twitched, and he stopped, not
looking at Akane anymore.

"And hey, what about school? It ends in a coupla weeks, we've got
exams and stuff. So you should just wake up now, okay? I know you
might be kinda weak, but I could carry you home. It'd be fine. Whaddya
say?" For the last two words, he turned to look at her face again. It
was so helpless, so defenseless right now. So motionless. Again, Ranma
looked away, shaking his head.

"That's what I thought. Just get better...please?...I'll be nice, I
swear. I won't call ya names, or insult your intelligence...I won't
even yell at you if you accidently turn me into a girl. Much.
Just...hurry up."

When Nadoka Saotome came back about forty minutes later, Ranma had
moved to one of the windows of the room. He was looking outside at the
street, watching people go by, and the occasional car. Having heard
the door open, he was already turned around when his mother walked in.
Her face was pleasant, though with a hint of sadness. In her hands she
had Ranma's schoolbag as well as a small lunchbox of food. Taking two
steps into the room, she paused at the foot of Akane's bed, her eyes
moving to the blue-haired girl slowly. But then she turned, putting
the things on the table gently before approaching Ranma.

"Ranma..."

"Hey," he said, trying to sound casual. But he knew his face was hard,
and that his muscles were tense.

"I brought you some food...and schoolbooks, and something to wear
tomorrow. And a few books...Nabiki suggested that. I don't know if I
brought the right ones, I just took the ones from your room that your
father said you read sometimes." Ranma noted that her voice was softer
then usual.

_She's tiptoeing around me..._

"Thanks. Whatever you brought's fine," he said, not wanting to upset
her.

"Will you be...going to school tomorrow?" It was a justifiable
question, but Ranma realized that he hadn't thought that far ahead.

_School...ah man, I forgot about actually going to school...but I
can't..._

Unconsciously, he turned to Akane as though expecting her to give the
answer. When she didn't, as he knew she wouldn't, he slowly turned
back to look at his mother.

"Dunno. Depends how I feel tomorrow, I guess. But I can't just leave
her like this." Nadoka nodded expectantly, her eyes also looking
towards Akane.

"I understand how you feel, son, but surely...you know Akane wouldn't
want you to miss out, so close to the end. She's been trying hard to
get you studying; don't make all her hard work go to waste." Her words
made Ranma's heart sink.

"I know that."

"Couldn't I stay here in your place? Or your father? Or maybe a
friend."

"...no."

"I see..."

"I just need to be here for a while, okay? Just...lemme be." He looked
away from her now, wondering if he had spoken too harshly. It was the
truth, wasn't it? He did want to be alone. And he didn't want to leave
anyone else to protect Akane. Not just yet.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry I bothered you...," replied Nadoka, walking out of
the room.

"Wait. Mom, I...I didn't mean it like that," he apologized, watching
her stop and look at him over her shoulder.

"I know dear. You're upset. You may have been away from me for a long
time, but I know my son. Just...don't forget to take care of yourself,
alright? And try to study...Akane would want you to," she said, her
voice so sure and forgiving that Ranma felt his face flush in
embarrassment for what he had said.

"Yeah...I know. I will."

"Goodnight then, Ranma. And don't forget to sleep."

"I won't."

Once the door was shut, he picked up the lunchbox and accompanying
chopsticks, and sat back down in the chair. Opening the box, he looked
inside, smelling the contents; pork dumplings, rice, crab ragoon. Even
a couple of chocolates off in a separate section. It was appetizing,
but Ranma found himself just staring at it, unable to take a bite.

It eventually went cold before he just gave up, put the lid back on,
and set the box down on the counter where it had been.

* * *

_How long has it been?_

"How long since when?"

Akane considered the question; she had started doing that a while ago.
It saved time, really, for if she asked a question oddly, or too
broadly, the voice would often just tease her, or ask her to rephrase
it.

_Since I got to the hospital. How long?_ The voice paused, and Akane
wondered what it was doing. Thinking? Trying to remember? Surely it
didn't have any sort of timepiece, or access to something like the
sun, stuck as it was in Akane's mind. From what she could tell, it
only had a very small grasp on what went on in the world. And even
that didn't involve vision, or physical manifestation, she had noted.

"A few hours now."

_Oh. It feels...longer._

"It always does." The voice had a soothing tone to it; her soothing
tone.

_I know you answered this already but...who are you? Really? I was
thinking back to the creation story, and there are holes in it._ To her
surprise, the voice didn't laugh. It wasn't the first time she had
made a grandiose claim as that. Every other time, the voice had
laughed as though it were the most amusing thing ever. But this time,
it was silent. Almost...contemplative.

"Really. Where?"

_Well...how do you know who has a coma, and where? And it's not like
comas are so rare...I bet hundreds, no, thousands of people in the
world have comas right now._

"I think you're closer with the thousands. But no, you're right. That
is a problem." The voice sounded unconcerned.

_But then how...?

"I don't know. I hadn't thought of it."_

Akane was silent.

"Okay, so maybe it had occurred to me. I don't know the answer,
though."

_Oh..._

"Hey, you're not losing your fire already, are you?"

_What do you mean?_

"You've gone passive."

_I have not! ...Hey, are you saying I was aggressive earlier?_

"Whoa, no I didn't say that. But...don't let yourself get too
passive."

_Why not?_

"Might lead to madness."

_Might?!_ The voice laughed, and Akane realized she was being played
with.

"Oh come on, learn to take a joke."

_That wasn't funny._

"Akane?" said a different voice. A male voice. If she had access to
her other senses, her eyes would have gone wide. Was that...Ranma's
voice? Did the other being do that? Or was that her head messing with
her again?

_...don't do that._

"It wasn't me, it was you. We're in your mind, remember? I explained
this already. In your head, you have voices of many, many people
stored. One of which is Ranma. Not surprising, considering how much
time you spend with him; he lives in your house, and is in nearly all
of your classes. You called his voice to mind, not me."

_But I...I didn't do it. Not that time._

"Yes you did," the voice said, though gently. "Stop kidding yourself.
You're allowed to miss him."

Akane wanted to sigh, but the lack of control of her lungs made the
act impossible. Instead, she remained quiet, considering what the
voice had said. She didn't think she had called his voice; she had
been surprised when she heard it. If she had called it up in her mind,
she should have expected it, shouldn't she?

_How is he?_

"I don't know. He's not close enough to you right now. I only know
that he's near."

_Oh...you'll let me know if he comes closer, right?_

"Of course. He was fine, the last time."

_I remember...I just...worry. He's not one to just sit around, and
wait._

"This isn't the first time you've been in danger; he'll be okay."

_True, but it's one of the first times he's unable to do anything to
help._ The voice was silent, as though unsure of the appropriate
response. When it still didn't respond after several seconds, Akane
began to wonder if it had left. Could it leave? Or was her mind so
large that it could wander off? Despite her irritation with it, she
didn't want it to go away. It was her link to Ranma, and the world
outside her body.

_Hello?_

"I'm still here."

_Oh. I...wasn't sure._

"I'm always here. Always."

_...And there's nothing you can do?_

"Nothing. Yet.."

_Yet?_

"Be patient, Akane. I think it's getting closer, but I...don't know.
Just...wait. It'll work out. I promise."

* * *

He wasn't sure what had woken him up. It may have been the unsettling
dream, though he had slept through many of those. It could have also
been the fact that Dr. Tofu had come in, set down a tray, and began
examining Akane. But then, he had slept through noise and the presence
of others many times more as well. Noting the fact that there was
sunlight coming in the room, he wondered if that had been it; it was
hurting his eyes now, and he snapped them back shut almost as soon as
he had looked at the other two people in the room.

_Probably all three...ugh, my back and shoulders are killin' me...._

"Ranma. Good, you're up. Did you manage to sleep through the night? I
was hoping you would." Ranma heard him moving around the sheets on
Akane's bed, and allowed one of his dark blue eyes to open. The
sunlight definitely hurt. And his back, and his shoulders, and his
head, and...

"Unghh...," he groaned, stretching his arms and then opening his eyes
completely. He was embarrassed to hear joints crack; how long had he
been sitting down? Since last evening? "How, uhh...how is she?"
Slowly, the room around him became less blurry. It was a wonderful
change from the dream he had; in it, he had been in a dark room, and
could hear Akane calling to him. But he couldn't see, and couldn't
move. All he could do was listen to her call for him; she couldn't
even seem to hear him shout to her, and explain that he was tied down.
She had sounded so distressed too, and...hollow. Like she didn't
really expect a response, but wanted to try, just in case.

"As well as she can be. She could use some human interaction,
though...," began Dr. Tofu. Shaking away the cobwebs of dreams, Ranma
blinked up at the doctor, still feeling tired.

"Human interaction?"

"Treatment for coma patients. Having family around, talking, just the
presence of the familiar. There's no concrete proof that it helps, but
then again, there's no proof that it doesn't."

Ranma got up and stood at Akane's bedside. She looked the same as she
had last night, more or less. Skin pale, hair neatly combed, chest
rising and falling in breath. He noticed that she was in pyjamas, as
though for the first time. White sheets stopped at her waist,
wrinkled, though still smooth enough to show that she had not moved in
the night. Her arms lay passively on top of the sheets; in one of her
arms, Dr. Tofu had hooked up an I.V., which Ranma noted had been done
just recently.

_She's so...cute._

Realizing that he was staring, he shook his head, then turned to the
doctor.

_I shouldn't be thinkin' things like that...she's unconscious...but..._

"So uhh...whaddya want me to do? Talk to her?" he asked, hoping the
doctor hadn't noticed. But he had an odd smirk on his face, as though
he were both pleased and saddened.

"Something like that. Talk to her, hold her hand, play her favourite
music. Even though she can't speak, hear or see right now, she can
still feel...to an extent. The more we can keep her body feeling as
though it's still going through the familiar motions, the sooner we
can get her back."

It did make sense, but hadn't that been what they were doing anyway?
It had seemed the natural thing to do. Slowly, he looked back over at
Akane, his expression serious.

_Talk to her..._

"What do I say?"

"Anything. It's not about what you say; it's about the tone, and whose
voice it is." Nervously, Ranma felt his eye twitch, then calmed it.

"Okay...uh...yo, Akane." The lack of response left him more
crestfallen then he thought it would. As though sensing this, the
doctor busied himself with something on the other side of the room.

"I dunno what I'm supposed to say, but...I'm here. Interacting.
Yeah...can you really feel me? Are you in there?" He let his voice go
lower, looking at her face still. At her closed eyelids. He could
picture her lively grey eyes in his mind; images of them mad, upset,
serious, happy, laughing. Akane had so many expressions, but right
now, it was just...peaceful. Sober. He wondered what her eyes would
look like right then, if she were awake. Would they be sparkling?
Happy to see him? Annoyed to be awakened so early?

_So early...what time is it...?_

"Hey, Doc...what time is it?"

"About seven, maybe seven fifteen by now." He was organizing some
tools and bottles on a counter.

"Oh. Thanks." He blinked, then took a deep breath. Seven AM.

"You hear that? Seven in the morning, and I got up on my own. No need
for water. Toldja it could be done." In his mind, he watched Akane
smirk; one of his hands began to shake.

"So, uhh..."

He gulped, trying to figure out what to say. The fact that he wasn't
alone didn't help, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be much more
talkative with the doctor gone.

_Guess I'll just have to go for the other kind of interacting._

After a quick look to make sure Dr. Tofu really wasn't paying
attention to him, he picked up Akane's hand, holding it tightly in his
own. It was cold now; she had spent the night sleeping with the covers
over her up to her chin, and yet her hands were still cold. Rubbing
the skin slightly with his thumb, he tried to feel her aura, but it
was no use; she hadn't used it recently enough. Although Dr. Tofu was
skilled enough to still see her ki, Ranma could only see it on certain
occasions; if it was in use, had been used recently, or if it was
being kept barely at bay.

_Akane...Akane..._

"There's something else you can do for her, too." Ranma turned his
head quickly to the doctor, but schooled his body to stay still.

"What?"

"Take care of yourself. I don't expect you to go to school if you
don't want to, but I want you to have breakfast. And go for a run. I
heard your joints popping when you woke up; your body isn't used to
being so still for so long." Ranma sighed, looking away. He was
getting sick of people telling him what to do; here was Akane,
defenseless and unresponsive, and everyone was suddenly jumping on him
to do something else. To not be there. It made him sick.

"Feh. You sound like my Pop."

"Maybe so, but I'm not your Pop. I'm your doctor."

When Ranma didn't say anything, the doctor stood up, walking over to
him.

"How's this. Akane needs to be bathed, and I need to run some tests.
My nurse will be here soon for that very purpose; I'll still be here,
watching over things for you. I want you to run home, get some
exercise, eat, and then after that you can come back." Ranma thought
it over, looking down at Akane's face. He definitely didn't want to be
around for the bathing; Akane would kill him the second she woke up,
for one. And he was getting hungry...

_But..._

"Ranma."

"Fine," he sighed, letting go of Akane's hand and wincing as he saw it
limply fall the two inches to the bed. Moving to the counter, he
picked up the still not eaten tray of food from last night and
examined it's contents. Some of it was still edible; the chocolates,
for one. Quickly, he ate the edible portions, planning on tossing the
rest before he got home, then grabbed the bag with his clothes in it.

"Gimme a few," he said, heading for the bathroom that adjoined the
patient's room.

"Of course."

He quickly changed, then ran his fingers through his hair lightly,
taking a moment to rebraid his pigtail. His outfit was more casual
now; just an ordinary pair of black pants, and a sleeveless blue
shirt. Worn, and comfortable, and clean. Once done, he shoved his
dirty clothes in the bag and walked back out to the main room.

Dr. Tofu wasn't in there anymore; the door was closed, and the bottles
he had been working with were still on the counter. Barely taking this
in, he walked up to Akane's bed, looking at her again.

"Hey, I'm gonna go now. Not for long, I'll be back. Dr. Tofu's still
here...and there'll be a nurse soon. So uhh...don't worry. Okay?
Umm...see ya later. Akane." He tried for a smile, and failed. But the
doctor had said talking would help, so talk he did.

Without another word he left the room, letting the doctor know he was
going on the way out. As soon as he was out the door, he burst into a
hard, fast run. It was with great effort that he didn't immediately
turn around and head back.

* * *

"He's awake now."

_Awake? It's the next day? But I..._

"Feel like it hasn't been long enough? I know. Time passes by in weird
ways, like this."

_Oh...what's he doing? How is he?_

"He's talking with you. Well, to you, I don't think he really expects
you to talk back. But now he's stopped. He's holding your hand."

She wished she could feel his hand. The thought alone was small
comfort, but to really feel again...

"He's alright, Akane."

_I know, but...it feels..._

"Odd?"

_Yes._

"...let's talk about something else."


             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'