Case Closed Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Fires of Vengence ❯ Here Without You ( Chapter 4 )

Fires of Vengeance

 

AN: The song's lyrics are edited. Remember: Bold is flashbacks, italicize is thoughts.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own the song or Ranma, Inuyasha, or Detective Conan.

 

Chapter 4 - Here Without You

 

A hundred days had made me older

Since the last time that I saw your pretty face

A thousand nights had made me colder

And I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles that separate

They disappeared now when I'm dreaming of your face

 

The miles just keep rolling as the people lead the way to say hello

I've heard this life is overrated but I hope it gets better as we go

 

Everything I know, and anywhere I go

It gets hard but it won't take away my love

And when the last one falls, when it's all said and done

It gets hard but it won't take away my love

 

I'm here without you baby but your still on my lonely mind

I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time

I'm here without you baby but your still with me in my dreams

But tonight, it's only you and me

"Here Without You" - 3 Doors Down

 

 

The knife continued on its trajectory, coming in contact with the pink, smooth flesh just below her hand. With seemingly no effort, the blade cut through the flesh on that wrist and then flipped around to get her other arm. Ryoga arrived just the knife finished making the second cut and Akane fell forwards, towards the pond.

He grabbed her and immediately laid her down on the grass. He looked into her eyes to see if she was still conscious and couldn't help but watch as the light started to fade from her eyes. Akane Tendo was dying…

 

Ryoga never stopped to think about what he was doing. Only two things crossed his mind: Akane was hurt and she needed help fast. He grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and ripped it into strips of cloth. As fast as he could, he tightly wound the pieces of cloth around Akane's wrists, in an attempt to stop the bleeding. While he was working on Akane's right arm, he heard someone come up beside him, sit down, and pick up some of the cloth pieces. Taking a quick look over to his side, Ryoga watched as Kasumi doing the same thing to Akane's left wrist.

Soon, with the two of them working together, they had Akane all bandaged up. Ryoga looked at her face and noticed she was no longer conscious. Her brown eyes were half covered with her eyelids, and the dark blue hair was a mess. He gently picked her up and carried her into the house. Sitting her down on a nearby couch, he turned back to the family, only to notice Nabiki coming into the room.

"Before you ask," Nabiki said, holding her hands up in a quiet gesture. "I've already called Tofu-sensei. He should be here any minute."

Ryoga let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. If Akane-san doesn't get attention soon, she'll… He didn't want to finish that train of thought. He continued to sit by her side, holding her hands, trying to keep them elevated so as to stop the blood flow. After what seemed like forever for him, there was a knock at the door. Nabiki immediately went to answer it, heading off Kasumi before she created a bigger problem than they already had. They did not need an incoherent Tofu at the moment.

"Thank goodness you're here," Ryoga heard Nabiki say as she opened the door.

"I came as fast as I could," came Tofu's reply. There was some light stepping as he walked down the corridor and into the living room before Ryoga saw the doctor. He looked slightly disheveled, most likely from getting a frantic call from Nabiki.

He briskly walked over to Akane and Ryoga and knelt down beside the couch, checking Akane's vitals as he pulled things out of the black bag he'd brought with him. A few moments later, a confused Tofu looked up at the anxious family waiting to hear about the youngest Tendo's condition.

"What's happened?" Tofu asked. "Her ki is all out of whack, and if something isn't done soon, she may not be the same."

"It's Ranma-kun," Soun said, tears already starting to flow from his eyes. "He's…he's…" he couldn't finish as his usual sobs overpowered his voice, leaving Kasumi to comfort him as he left, not being able to take the pain of seeing his daughter so hurt.

"What's happened with Ranma?" Tofu continued to press. There is something amiss here… something big.

"He's dead." Nabiki's statement made everyone shiver because of the way she said it: like it was final, expected, almost even angry. That was very unusual for her, for Nabiki almost never showed any emotion, especially anger.

"Dead? What happened?" Tofu was surprised he hadn't heard about this before now.

"There was a train accident," Ryoga explained "Ranma, being the jerk and egotist he is, had to save everyone even when he was told there was no one left to save. He went back into the wreckage and while he was in there, there was an explosion. Cologne went in a soon as she could safely, but returned empty handed, saying there was no trace of him left."

No trace? "How big was the explosion?" Tofu asked.

"Bad enough that not even Cologne or I could get with in a 2 meter radius of it," Ryoga replied.

Even then, there should've been something left…What am I missing? Tofu decided to think about it later. Saving Akane's life was more important. He spent the next few minutes undoing the makeshift bandages Ryoga and Kasumi applied and used his own supplies to disinfect and wrap her wrists. When he was finished, he put the tools back in his back and stood up, turning to the others.

"She'll survive, but I'm afraid it seems she's slipped deep into herself, as supported by her ki. I'd like to keep her at the clinic until she wakes up." Seeing no one objecting, he gently picked up Akane and continued to walk out the door. Ryoga followed the doctor, not wanting to get lost and wanting to stay by Akane's side.

 

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Kudo Shinichi stared at the campfire he and Kaito had started while waiting for Conan and both Ranmas to return with whatever food they'd managed to gather. They were about two day's distance from Nerima, Tokyo, and he wanted to keep the pace they'd set since leaving the amazons. Ranma had figured Shampoo would be coming after them, and according to the life threads, she wasn't too far behind. Hmm, maybe I'd better check on her position again, Shinichi thought to himself. Having nothing better to do, he reached out with his powers, while still in his ningen form. It was something he'd learned in the five years of not having Ran nearby.

As usual, the first thing he felt was all those who passed on nearby. Surprisingly, there wasn't that many. Hmm, death must've decided to follow someone else today. Next, he felt the threads of those who were near death; usually, they were the elderly or those in the ICU at hospitals. As he was moving through those threads, one of the near death ones caught his attention. He wasn't for sure why, but his mind wouldn't let him leave it alone.

Giving in to the temptation of a mystery, as it was always difficult to find out exactly who the threads belonged to unless he had met them before, he reached for it. The thread was holding onto life by a few hairs, but as he was holding it, he could tell, if nothing was done soon, this person would die, even when the body was mostly healthy.

Like usual, whenever he held a thread, he could feel a few of the person's strongest emotions. Sometimes, he would feel love, other's hate. Very rare would he feel nothing. The only time that ever happened was when subject was in a coma. What surprised Shinichi was this thread was not like the others. Yes, he could feel different emotions coming from it, but he also felt an emptiness radiating from the center of it. This intrigued him even more. He'd hardly found threads like this. From the direction the thread went, it was coming from Nerima. In fact, the thread seemed vaguely familiar…

OH SHOT! IT'S HER!!!!!!!!!!!! Shinichi's mind screamed.

Immediately, he went into action. First, he coated the thread, making it harder for her to die. True, she could still unconsciously end her life, but at least she'd mostly likely be safe until she woke up from the self-induced coma. Second, he sent his senses out, looking for the two Ranma's he knew where somewhere nearby, most likely training while gathering food. Sure enough, they were a few meters away, coming closer as he thought.

Without waiting another second, Shinichi reverted back to his shinigami form. When the two Ranmas entered the clearing, along with Conan, they were surprised to see a shinigami Shinichi with Kaito in the processes of dropping his illusion. Conan's danger sense went into overdrive.

"What's wrong?" the present Ranma asked.

The word Shinichi spoke sent shivers down the spine of both Ranmas. "Akane-san."

"What happened?" the two Ranmas said at the exact same time.

"I don't really know. From what I can tell, she tried to kill herself yesterday. She's right now in a coma."

Both Ranmas thought the exact same thing. I've got to get to her.

"Conan, change your form we're traveling as fast as we possibly can. If we don't do something, Akane-san's going to die soon. Not even I can stop that." Conan nodded his head once to Shinichi and promptly changed. Over the past few days, he'd learned to trust his 'niichan', so he followed explicitly the commands he was given.

While Shinichi was talking to the others, Kaito had been cleaning up camp. He'd gathered all the equipment and put it away, storing somewhere on himself. As soon as he finished breaking camp, he walked back over to the group and put out the fire. Plunging into darkness, it took a few moments for his kitsune eyes to adjust.

Shinichi noticed the sudden lack of light and figured Kaito had broken camp. He motioned for the others to follow him and he took off in the direction of the Nerima district. Because of the neko-ken training, both Ranmas could see and where able to keep up with the pace the shinigami had set. They both hope they'd make it in time to stop Akane from doing it again.

 

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Akane sat down on the hill, over looking the field before her. She didn't know where she was, but she didn't care. Ranma was dead. That was all she could think about. The only man she ever truly loved was gone from her life forever. What made it worse was there was nothing she could do about it. Oh, Ranma! Why did you have to go? Where are you?

"Hey, tomboy!" a voice called out from behind her.

Akane immediately flipped around. Standing there, looking like his usual smug self was…"R…Ranma?"

Akane didn't want to believe what she was seeing. Ranma was standing in front of her, ALIVE! No, he's dead… he'sdeadhe'sgottabedead. I'mgoingcrazy… they'regoingtolockmeup… Ranma'sinfrontofme… Ranma's alive… alive. Akane didn't think anymore. She just acted on her body's instincts alone. Shakily standing up, she reached over and brought him into a glomp that would make Shampoo green with envy.

"Akane? What's wrong?"

That did it for Akane. The real tears she'd been holding in since his 'death' came tumbling out. Before, it seemed as if she was crying for her family. Now, she was crying for herself. All Akane could do was cling to Ranma and cry on his shoulder. She increased the strength of her hold as the force of her wail increased. Soon, she started having a hard time breathing from the torrent of tears streaming down the side of her face. She had to calm down or she would go unconscious from lack of air. That was something she didn't want to do.

"Akane? You alright?" Ranma asked again.

Akane shook her head. "How is this possible? You're…you're…d…dead!" Her statement sent her off on another storm, draining her already low reserves.

Ranma put his hand behind his head. "Actually," he said, halfway laughing. "I'm not for sure either. I mean, one second I heard the explosion and a pain ran though my body, and the next, I was behind you."

"So…so it's true…you really are dead…" Akane looked down into her lap, her depression building. "Why? Why are you haunting me? Do you hate me that much?"

"Honestly, Akane, I'm as lost as you. I've got no idea why I'm here. If I'm supposed to be dead, this sure ain't the paradise I was hoping for."

Like usual, Akane's anger got the better of her. "Paradise? You want paradise?! If you don't think this is it, why. don't. YOU. LEAVE?!" Like usual, she summoned one of her mallets and hit Ranma into the air. Like usual, Ranma sailed off into the sky until he became just another star in the heavens.

"Stupid…egotistic…arrogant…chauvinist…PER VERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Akane screamed. She continued on her tirade until the red haze of anger dissolved. When she realized what she'd just done, Akane felt even worse. The pain she'd felt before was nothing to the soul-tearing anguish she was now dealing with.

"No…" she mumbled as tears once again started to course down the sides of her cheeks. "No…Ranma…" She couldn't finish, for the heart-racking sobs overpowered her voice. I did it again, she thought. I sent Ranma away. Once again, I've lost him. I had the chance…I…I LOST HIM FOR GOOD!!!!! Her thoughts derailed as she once again reflected on her previous actions toward her fiancée.

In her mind, blinders ripped away, she saw what she'd done to Ranma. She saw all the horrible things she'd said and did to him. All the times she called him a pervert, a hentai, a jerk…almost every single time, she could now see it wasn't his fault. But no, she would never let him explain. It was just easier to get angry and hit.

What have I become? Akane thought as the flashbacks continued. Every time something went wrong, I blamed it on Ranma…just like Ryoga. Every time one of the other fiancées grabbed him, even when he did nothing or tried to get out, I'd hit Ranma. I'd blame it on Ranma. He was right about me, I'm just an uncute, unsexy, terrible tomboyish fiancée. No wonder he never liked me.

She started placing things together as the memories went on. Ranma never picked fights with Ryoga or P-chan. It was the other way. Ryoga, with his 'Die Ranma!', or 'Ranma, prepare to die!'. Why couldn't I see it before? Why did I let Ryoga try to push us apart?…not that he did the worst of it. If anyone is to be blamed for the failure of our engagement, it'd be me. I was the one always hitting Ranma, insulting him…WHY DID I DO IT?!

Akane had no answer to the once question that kept coming up: "Why?" She continued to think about it, but her brain still came up with nothing. Eventually, the memories stopped, leaving her to hurt alone, longing for a fiancée she felt she never deserved and could no longer have.

"Why?" Akane continued to mumble after her tears started to subside. "Why was I so mean to Ranma? Why would I always push Ranma away?"

Neither her heart nor the heavens seemed to have the answer she desperately wanted and needed. Akane figured if she knew why she worked so hard on pushing Ranma away, maybe she could correct it. Then, possibly, she might still be able love. Not that I' d want anyone else beside Ranma…Ranma, where are you?

As she continued to sit there, the air around her seemed to grow darker with her depression. The more she focused on her loss, the more depressed she became. Soon, the anguish was visible to the naked eye by the dark cloud hanging over her. If anyone had been nearby, they would've been running away, screaming about depression, Shi Shi Hokodans, and big explosions.

Soon, her emotions and chi built up to the critical mass. Akane let loose a loud cry of "RANMA!" as she released all the bent up hurt and anguish. A part of Akane realized what she was trying, and hoped it worked. It wanted closure, an ending to the pain, a final bang. After all, the part thought, without Ranma, what good is life?

Unfortunately, it seemed she couldn't die. After the dust cleared near where she was sitting, Akane found herself lying on the ground, completely devoid of energy and most emotions. All she could feel was the depression, which was a hundred times worse than anything she'd felt before. It made her want to just keel over and die. As she continued to lie there, the anguish of her soul increased to the point she didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like she couldn't go on living, didn't want to go on living. What is there worth living for now? Akane asked herself. There's no more Ranma. Once again, tears came to her eyes, and she let herself be lost in the torrent of her cries, still mumbling about losing Ranma.

 

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"How is she, sensei?" Tendo Soun asked.

"Not much better than when you asked yesterday. She's still in the coma," came the reply over the phone. "Nabiki and Ryoga are still over here, but I don't think there's anything they can do. If she is to survive, it has to be of her own choice. There's only one person I know who might be able to do anything, but according to you, he's dead."

"Ranma."

"Yes, but without him, I don't think we will have much hope. You should be prepared for the worst." Should I tell him? Tofu Ono wondered. It might make it even harder for him and the others, but… His thoughts were interrupted by a machine's alarm and Nabiki's shout.

"TOFU-SENSEI! SOMETHING'S WRONG!" she screamed from the room Akane was staying in.

Tofu quickly said goodbye to Soun, hung up the phone and rushed into the other room. As he ran towards the bed Akane was lying on, he shifted his vision to check on her ki. It was getting worse. He now could actively see the ki disappearing, proving she was wishing herself to die, even when she was unconscious.

"This isn't good," Tofu muttered as his vision changed back so he could read the machines. The one throwing the fit was connected to her pulse. It was showing her heart was beating a lot slower than usual, too slow for one to survive for long. "No, Akane-chan," Tofu told her, "You can't go like this. There are others who need you."

He grabbed Nabiki, pushed her in front of the monitor, told her to watch it for changes, and then took off at a sprint for his main office. He came back a few moments later, a syringe in his hand. Without stopping at Nabiki or Ryoga's look of confusion, he injected the contents into Akane's right arm. A few moments later, Akane's heart started to pick up the beat, making everyone sigh in relief.

"That should do it for now," Tofu said as he headed back out the door. "Keep an eye on her, you two, okay?" They both nodded in agreement.

"Nabiki-san?" Ryoga asked a few moments later. "What's happening to her?"

"I don't know, Ryoga-kun," Nabiki replied, tears visible in her eyes for the first time in years. "I really don't know."

 

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"So exactly what is going on?" Heiji asked Inuyasha.

"Many, many things," he answered. "Some of which, you can't know yet."

"Kudo said you'd explain things, but so far," Heiji motioned to the group gathered. "You haven't done much. We've been coming to these 'meetings' for 4 days now, but you've yet to tell us anything new. What is happening with Kudo? Where is he?" Heiji did not lose his temper easily, but his inner detective knew something was going on, something big. What made it worse was Inuyasha didn't seem to want to reveal anything yet.

Inuyasha sighed. Even though Shinichi said not to tell too much, I think there are a few who need to know more. I guess I'd better let them know. He turned to face everyone gathered. "Fine, I'll let a few of you know, but only a few. There is some things I don't want everyone to know." Everyone nodded, even when a few of them figured they'd be the ones left out.

"Alright, I'll need to talk with Hattori-kun, and Mouri-san first," Inuyasha looked over at Kagome for approval. She nodded.

He motioned for Heiji and Ran to follow him into one of the bedrooms upstairs. They'd been meeting at Kagome's shrine, as it was easier and a more localized position for all of them, especially since the rest of her family was on vacation at the moment. He chose to use Kagome's room, as he'd been in there the most. Shutting the door after the other two had entered, he faced them, prepared for the worse, even if his face didn't show it. His current poker face could rival Kaito's, even if he'd learned it from Shinichi.

"Okay," Inuyasha began, "the first thing you need to know is that I'm not from this time."

Ran cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean by that? Don't you just hide your youkai side?"

"No, in truth, I'm from about 500 years in the past. I come to this time by a well, the Bone-eater well at this shrine to be exact."

"Ah," Ran exclaimed, "so that's how you and Kagome met!"

"Not exactly," Inuyasha continued. "At first, she came through the well…" He proceeded to give a quick account of their adventures in the Warring States Era, including their eventual fight and defeat of Naraku. "But, then things changed. The last time Kagome saw me, my age, without the time spent sealed to the tree, was about 17 human years. Now, even though it doesn't show, I've lived another 5 years without her." He had to close his eyes at the memories of the time he spent without having Kagome nearby. "Things have changed, and not for the better."

"Wait a minute," Heiji interrupted. "How can you live 5 years without her, when she said she'd only not been with you for about two days?"

Inuyasha laughed. "You're as much of a detective as Shinichi says you are. You're right, it's not possible using your current knowledge of space and time. But, there is always something new. True, for Kagome, it'd only been two days, but for me, I survived for five years without her, and in her time."

"Whoa, slow down there," Heiji held his hands up, "how can that happen? I mean, if it was in your time, then I might say it's because of the well, but in our time?"

"That is because I'm not from this time era either. Neither is Shinichi."

That blew it for Ran. "HE'S WHAT?"

Inuyasha had to flatten his ears against the top of his head to avoid losing his hearing. "Yes, Mouri-san, the Kudo Shinichi you met six days ago is not the Kudo Shinichi you've known and is your age. He, along with a Saotome Ranma and I, are actually from five years in the future. He did not want to tell you this, but I figured you needed to know, since they haven't arrived back yet."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Heiji said, moving to sit down on the floor while the others remained standing. "Who hasn't arrived yet? Are you saying there are two Kudo Shinichi's running around right now?"

"Yes and no," Inuyasha shook his head. There were still some things he didn't want to reveal yet. "You'll understand in time. There is a reason for our return to the 'past'. In five years, you, Hattori Heiji, will be dead, along with many others."

 

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Saotome Ranma ran down the streets of Tokyo, looking for only one place in particular. If he could find it, maybe this nightmare would end. He didn't like the way it was going, and if it continued, he knew he wouldn't like the ending. Nothing else matters as long as she's there, Ranma thought to himself as he continued on his path, heading for the Nerima ward.

"Ranma-kun, slow down, she's no longer in danger!" he heard Shinichi's voice from behind him. Ever since Shinichi had warned them the first time, they'd been on edge. Then, coupled with the scare of this morning, it became too much for the protective youth.

"I don't care," he shot back. "I've got to get to her!"

"If you go to her half-dead, you won't be of much use!" Conan interjected. He could understand Ranma's feeling, but if he didn't think this through, it could blow up in their faces.

"I don't care," Ranma shot back again.

"Look, I know you care about her. You can't deny it. I know you've even been missing her. Hell, I've been missing her for the past five years, but if you don't do this correctly, it could cause major problems in the future," the other Ranma retorted.

"That doesn't matter. Nothing matters 'cept Akane."

There was just no stopping him with words, the others realized. The older Ranma looked up at Shinichi, who nodded. Sighing, his mind somewhat protesting his next course of actions, he increased his speed and tackled the younger Ranma, pinning him to the ground.

"HEY!" the younger male shouted as he struggled to get free. "LET ME GO! I'VE GOT TO GET TO AKANE!"

"I'm not letting you go," the older Ranma stated, "until you listen to what we have to say. There are many things going on here, things you don't understand. If you go to her right now, it can cause a huge amount of problems that I don't have time to deal with, that we don't have time to deal with. Understand?"

The younger Ranma continued to struggle for a few more minutes, before he finally gave up and listened to what his 'elders' had to say. After a few explanations, some written out in very easy to understand words, Ranma finally agreed to wait, even though it was eating him up inside to be this far from Akane.

"If one thing changes, ONE THING, I don't care who or what it is, no one's going to stop me from going to her!" Ranma informed them after the explanations. Everyone else nodded their affirmation.

 

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Ryoga looked at the unconscious form of Akane, tears once again starting to blur his vision. He could say, in a strange, twisted way, he'd finally beaten Ranma at something. Here, Akane thought Ranma was dead. Yet, these thoughts brought him no comfort. Even if Akane finally did 'forget' about Ranma now that she though he was gone, she'd never be the same Akane he fell in love with. This experience had hurt her worse than he'd originally thought it would.

If you'd asked him a week ago, before Ranma's 'death', he'd have told you, 'Yeah, Akane might be sad for a few days, but she'd change around and see I'm the right one for her. I deserve her more than that jerk.' Now, though, he could see the error in his thinking. It appeared, to him, he'd miss judged Akane's feelings for the martial artist. It seemed she cared a great deal for him, even to go as far as to try to kill herself because she thought he was gone.

Ryoga was glad she'd not been able to make good on her try. He shuddered as his brain unsuccessfully tried to push down the picture of a future without Akane. For him, there was no such thing. Any future without Akane was too dark to be even a possibility. Still, if Akane did wake up, he figured she'd survive, and he'd still find a way to bring her around to his thinking. After all, she deserves better than that arrogant, womanizing bastard! he told himself. His mental ranting on Ranma continued until Nabiki entered the room again, finally getting back from eating.

"Any changes?" she asked.

"None," he replied, not moving to look at her.

"Oh, Akane. What are we going to do with you?" Nabiki asked herself. She moved to sit down on an empty chair on the other side of Akane from Ryoga.

Just as she sat down, she noticed something was different about Akane. In the days previous, Akane'd hardly moved at all. This time, she was starting to thrash around. Not knowing exactly what to do, she moved to hold her down, while motioning to Ryoga to get Tofu. As soon as Ryoga left the room, leaving the door half-open as a way to guide him back, Akane stopped moving, which surprised Nabiki. She looked down at her younger sister to see her starting to come around.

Nabiki gave a sigh of relief as she released her hold and sat back down, waiting for Akane to completely wake up. She didn't have to wait long. A few moments later, her dark brown eyes opened and looked around the room. Apparently not finding what she was seeking, Akane curled herself into a ball. Nabiki could see tears starting to course down her cheeks once again. Akane's mouth was moving and Nabiki moved closer to try to hear what her sister was saying.

"…true…he's gone…why'd he have to go…"

Nabiki didn't hear anything more as the door banged against the wall and she looked up to see Tofu and Ryoga coming into the room. She moved away to give Tofu complete access to his charge. After a few minutes of checking over Akane, he stood back and sighed.

"Akane-chan," Tofu spoke, his voice kind and soft, more so than usual, Nabiki thought.

Akane lifted her head and stared at the doctor. "Tofu…sensei?"

"Akane-chan, what happened?" Even though some might have argued it was better to wait a while before trying to get her to say anything about what had happened, Tofu knew Akane's personality. If they didn't do something about it now, she'd have major problems later.

"I…I saw it…" she mumbled, her tears slightly increasing.

"Saw what?" Tofu continued.

"It…it was with him…with Ranma…" Hearing herself speak Ranma's name, her tears increased dramatically and she couldn't say anything more for a few minutes. Tofu just stood there, clam and collected, making motions to Ryoga and Nabiki not to say anything or move closer.

After a while, Akane calmed down enough to talk again. "It was…was taking him away…AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted, breaking out into tears once again.

"Akane-chan, what was taking Ranma away?" Tofu asked.

"A…a shinigami…" At the mention of the death god, the room suddenly felt much colder. Even Ryoga didn't know what to say. He'd seen Ranma alive, but if he was, why did Akane say she saw him with a shinigami? Is it because he didn't want me to go after her when he couldn't do anything about it? Ryoga's face turned darker. That's got to be it. He thought up the whole 'from the future' to keep me away from her when in reality, he's already dead and can't do anything about it.

"The…the shinigami said something about…having to hurry because of an appointment, and R…Ranma said he wanted to…to see me before he…he WENT!!!" She finished her statement with a wail that showed how much she was actually hurting. Not being able to stand it any longer, Nabiki moved over and held her sister as Akane lost herself in her pain.

Nabiki looked up at the doctor. "What do we do now?" she asked.

For once, he didn't have an answer. "I really don't know. Shinigami's are purely legends, but if one were to show up, it could cause much more problems. Supposedly, they only show up and escort the dead if the dead either did something incredibly heroic or evil. If there was one with Ranma, it's safe to assume he's dead."

Ryoga pondered the doctor's statement. Incredibly heroic or evil…heroic or evil…evil…That's what happened! Ranma's finally getting his come upance for making my life hell! I finally get my revenge, even if I didn't do it myself. He continued on this train of thought until they heard the front door to the clinic open and shut a few moments later.

Tofu moved to the door to shout down to the customers that the clinic wasn't open, but he never got the chance. Nabiki watched in a mixture of horror and amusement as the young doctor's face paled at what ever was walking up the stairs.

She shifted slightly to lay Akane back down on the bed, who buried her face in her pillow, and then stood up. She didn't get to move more than a foot or two when the new comer reached the door and ran inside the room, making it to the side of Akane's bed. It was Ranma. Alive.

"Hey there, tomboy," he spoke softly, his voice showing a slight bit of affection.

Immediately, Akane's head snapped up and looked right into Ranma's blue eyes. "R…Ranma?" she asked timidly, not completely wanting to believe he was there.

Ranma smiled. "Miss me?"

Years later, he would wonder how she moved so fast. One second, she was lying on the bed, looking up at him. The next, he found himself seated on the bed with Akane on his lap, hugging him tightly and crying into his chest. Personally, he didn't mind the attention, but to him, this was very unlike Akane. Still he just held her as her tears started to calm down. Once she'd finished her bawling session, he pushed her slightly away to look back into her eyes. Before either of them got a chance to say anything, though, a collective gasp as heard from Tofu, Nabiki and Ryoga. Both Akane and Ranma turned to look at what surprised everyone else. Standing in the doorway, was a shinigami.

One thought passed through Akane's mind at the new development. He's going to take my Ranma away!

 

AN: Ranma has finally been reunited with Akane, but what will happen now? Find out in the next chapter, which will be posted soon. I once again thank my sister for beta reading and helping brainstorm. Some people might say Nabiki's Out of Character, but the way I see it, if someone or something is threatening or hurting her family, she is very much a different person. I'm a little disappointed. I have over 1300 hits for the story, and yet I only got two reviews in a week. (I know I seem a little eccentric, but I really like reading reviews!) Please, please. Take the time to write a review and make this author's day. I hope to everyone reviews so I can read their reaction!