The Price and the Gift By Kyokukou Disclaimer : I don't own the characters from Ranma 1/2 only the characters that I write myself . So please don't sue me ! But if you try to use my characters .....there will be ...unpleasant consequences if I find out . Do not repost or reprint this without my permission , however if you do ASK there is a good chance I will let you . Ranma screamed again . But the pain would not be stopped by that . He screamed louder , from the primal depths within . But the pain would not be released . Ranma could not feel his limbs splintering boards as he thrashed . Such was not Ranma's world . Ranma's world was anguish . Claws of ebony tore at him , pronged pain lashing out from the abyss that had engulfed him . A girl told him that his heart meant nothing to her but something for her to hate . A man in a white gi hurled him further into the abyss , screaming encouragement to the ebony claws . A mother stood so far away , an endless blade bridged the abyss between Ranma and her , but the only way to her was to walk the killing edge . Ranma writhed , Ranma howled , Ranma knew there was to be no reprieve . ---- " Gods ! What's wrong with him ! What's happening ?" She shouted , to be heard over Ranma's screams . " We've got to wake him up !" Soun stared at Ranma's thrashing form , looking for a safe opening . Genma laid across the room , unconscious , for lack of such caution . " RANMA WAKE UP !" Akane screamed as Soun saw his chance and lunged . **** (Four hours earlier) " So what are you offering ?" Ryouga narrowed his eyes at the woman . Something instinctive told him to beware of her . " What exactly ?" He had wandered into this bar/club/or something just moments ago while searching for a grocery store . No sooner had he identified that he was in the wrong sort of building when a blond gaijin woman had approached him , promising to fulfil his dreams . Ryouga had tried to worm his way out of the situation the usual way , but she seemed to always be right in front of him . The whole time she had never shut up about her stupid offer . " I believe I have already gone over that in detail ." The woman smiled salaciously at him . " I offer you a chance to do what you have always wanted done . Saotome Ranma to see hell as you say you have ." " And the price ?" He demanded . Something was really wrong when a goddess-like woman smiled at him like that and blood didn't spew from his nose as his systolic blood pressure shot past two hundred . " The prrrice ?" The woman sidled up to him and practically purred . " The price is well worth paying , but yes there is a price . Firstly , you won't be present for Ranma's ...punishment . Secondly , you must willingly give me a small amount of your blood . Thirdly , you must give me a drop of Ranma's blood ." Ryouga tried to back away from the woman , only to back into the corner . " Why the blood ?" He asked , looking at the wall as if it had betrayed him . " This will be done by magic of course ." Now having him cornered the woman wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself onto him . " You said that Ranma's made you see hell . So we need some of your blood . We need his for obvious reasons . You do want you final revenge , don't you ?" She pulled herself up , sliding across his body , until they were eye to eye . " Or do you desire more ? Tell me Ryouga , how can you stand such a lonely life ? Perhaps we could forgo your revenge entirely for something else ?" Her nose brushed his as she drew closer . " What would you do if it could be arranged so that you never became lost ever again ?" By this time more warning sirens had gone off in the Hibiki brain than Ryouga knew were there . However , he was at a loss to get his arms to throw the woman off of him . He felt like jelly all over . " Or , perhaps you might not want to rid yourself of wanderlust ? What if , just what if ..." She closed her eyes and brought her lips to his . Ryouga had been kissed before in his life . However , he never knew a kiss could be what she was doing . It felt like pure ardor flowing directly into him . Before he knew it he was returning the kiss as his arms , no longer jelly , responded without the command of his mind . "...what if I could always accompany you on your wanderings , just so you're never lonely again ?" He felt his mouth open to answer . Only stuttering came forth . He closed it and thought for a second . Oh , never to be lonely again , pining away in the dark for his one love Aka- " NO !" Before he knew what he was doing his arms exploded into motion , shoving the woman away , hard . What was he thinking ? Even such thoughts were betraying his love . The woman screamed in pain as her arms dislocated , she screamed again as bones broke upon her impact with a booth . Ryouga stared in horror at what he had done . She could be dying ! He rushed over to the battered woman , only to recoil as she leapt to her feet lightly , no trace of harm on her . " You didn't have to be so forceful ." She rolled her eyes at him before flashing a brilliant smile . " But I forgive you . The offer will remain open , alright ?" " Wha-who-I...aww hell I'm outta here !" When the eternally lost boy tries to get lost , what happens ? He makes Gulliver look like a homing pigeon . **** Soun managed to block the flailing limb in time , but the impact sent him skidding along the floor and into the wall . Ranma suddenly went rigid before folding into a fetal ball . Akane was at his side in an instant . Crying her eyes out . Kasumi rushed over to aid her father . Nabiki remained backed up against the wall , staring in horror . **** (Three hours earlier) " Would that I held within my wondrous power the cantrip to bring low that fell sorcerer ." Kuno Tatawaki stared down at the chess table and frowned . His opponent and guest was quite formidable . Odd that his twisted sister would have such a friend . Although she did look like his sister's type of ally . Hair as black and rich as the night itself , it cascaded over one shoulder in a braid that would reach her knees when she stood . Her skin was pale as the moon's light . But her face was sharp and vital , framing eyes that burned with a intelligence that rivaled any sword's sharpness . Indeed , odd that his twisted sister would have such a friend . " What would you give , what task or quest would you take for such a elixir , such a boon as the power to strike down the weaver of all the lies ? And knight takes queen ." " AH !" He gaped at the masterful maneuver for a moment . In one blow she had rendered his entire strategy asunder ! Oh to find such conflict worthy of his countless hours of practice . Such an opponent , such beauty , such a mind ! How in the name of Heaven did his twisted sister earn such a friend ? " You ask as if you held such a weapon that could strike true when all mine had fallen but short . Rook takes bishop ." The girl frowned at the board for a moment before answering . " I , myself , lack such a thing . However , I am acquainted to one of such erudition as he might know of means yet somehow beyond your tried methods . Pawn advances ." " So intimate would you be as to be apt to answer a query of mine ?" He asked as he pondered the board . That last move's purpose escaped him entirely . Was it mere distraction or to block a path of his or mayhap open another for her ? Such a formidable girl ! How in hell's many names did his sister know her ? " A question ? Perhaps I might or perhaps it might be beyond me ." " Fair enough . You're acquaintance would not be the incarnation of all ends , would he ?" Hearing his words , the girl froze . " What ?" " Pardon me , let me rephrase a bit . The one you speak of would not be a man or creature of evil , offering to fulfil a dark desire by still darker means , would he ?" The girl relaxed and gave him a reassuring look . " Oh no . Far from such , I assure you ." " My skepticism once aroused to such a conclusion will have to be dissuaded by more than assurances , due to its nature you see . Knight takes pawn ." " I quite understand ." The girl nodded with a smile . " If you cannot embrace my overture with uplifted heart then take it not . Hereby , I retract the proposal ." " Then may I know what the nature of this acquaintance be ?" The girl smiled and fiddled with one of her chess pieces before looking up at him . " You may question me , and with all veracity , I will answer ." " Permit a fool to digress , fair one ?" " Yes ?" " How did my sister come to know you ?" " She doesn't ." The girl smiled , a beautiful sight Tatawaki felt that he could grow quite fond of . **** Akane's heart beat so fast she all she could hear was her own blood roaring in her ears . Ranma had stopped screaming , stopped moving . He was starting to grow cold in her arms , cold so fast ! " Ranma ! Ranma !" She sobbed over and over again , a mantra she prayed would somehow call him back to her from whatever gripped him . **** (Two hours earlier) " Who's there ?" Gosunkugi looked about him , the candles on his head providing light in the dim room . " Just me ." A voice came from behind him . He whipped his head about so fast the candles flickered out . But he had enough time to glimpse the face of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life . He stifled a scream . " Calm down ." The contralto voice giggled . " I'm not here to hurt you ." " What are you here for ?" He fumbled over the books that he had been studying in his haste to crawl away under cover of darkness . " Hold on a sec ." The woman's hand was suddenly on his shoulder . If it had been possible he would have jumped out of his skin . Unexplainably the room was illuminated once more , albeit dimly . The delicate hand turned him around until he was sitting facing her . " Who are you ?" He asked , half in fear , half in awe . " Call me whatever name you like ." She smiled at him , sitting down demurely across from him . " Name's aren't all that important when there're directed at me ." " Alright , what are you ?" He continued , trying to match her form and face to some description he had read in the many tomes of magic he owned . Could she be a demon come for his soul ? An angel here to save it ? Or an entirely independent entity with its own agenda ? Or one of his relatives ?! " What I am cannot properly be explained in any language ." She continued to smile , as if she had all the patience of the ocean . " ...Um...where are you here ?" He tried , so far he could not think of what she was or why she wanted something from him . All his spirit and demon summoning attempts had either failed or gone awry in the past , but he hadn't done anything of that sort for months ! " I am here to ask you a question and make you an offer ." " OH NO !" He yelped and tried to escape . Only to find after he fell to the floor that she held one of his ankles in an iron grip . " Do you hate Saotome Ranma ?" " Lemme go !" He clawed at the floor , seeking leverage . " Do you hate Saotome Ranma ?" " Please ! I've done nothing to you !" He pried at her fingers to no avail . " Do you hate Saotome Ranma ?" " YES Damnit ! I hate him !" He snarled , still straining to be free . " Would you see him dead ?" " Wha- NO ! I don't hate anybody that much ." Caught off guard by the question he stopped struggling , for now . " So what would you do to see your hate slated ?" The beautiful woman asked him in tones that made him shiver . " Would you see Ranma suffer ? Suffer in ways even he cannot imagine ?" " What ? Why the hell would I do that ?! I don't like Ranma because he's engaged to Akane ! I don't really hate him . I guess I just dislike him with a great deal of animosity . If he wasn't engaged to Akane I would wish him well ." " So....you don't want to see him burn in hell ?" The woman frowned in mild confusion . " No !" Gosunkugi snapped . " Not even suffer as you have all your life ?" She tried . " I just want Akane to like me and not him ." He stated . " No suffering for Ranma ?" She said in a uncertain voice . " No ." He shook his head . " Not even a little ?" She held up her thumb and forefinger , only a centimeter apart from one another . " Sorry . I'm not that wrathful ." He shrugged , wondering what was going on . **** " Ran-" Akane's mantra was interrupted as she suddenly convulsed . Sending the inert form of Ranma rolling away . The youngest Tendo gripped her chest as if her heart were being torn from it . Akane's mouth opened in a soundless scream before she toppled over . " No ... NO ! I'll not lose anyone again !" Soun bellowed , racing over to his stricken daughter . Kasumi was at her father's side in an instant , seeking to aid any efforts that could be made . Nabiki pressed herself deeper into the wall , as if she could melt through it and escape the horror before her . **** (One hour earlier) " What do you really desire , Tendo Nabiki ? I know it is not money , despite how you present yourself ." The woman paced around her . " For a lucid dream you seem a lot like something from my subconscious ." Nabiki commented dryly . She had always had a talent for recognizing when she was dreaming . It always made nightmares so much easier to get rid of . " Then poof me away ." The woman shrugged . Nabiki willed the woman to disappear in a puff of mint scented smoke . Nothing happened . Odd . So she tried to manifest a chocolate ice cream cone in one hand . It was there . So this was a dream but... " This is a dream , you're right . But how does that guarantee you absolute power over it , eh ?" " It's my dream in my mind ." She answered , absently poofing the ice cream out of existence . " Ahh , but far less than ten percent of your mind is what you think of as 'you' . The rest is very much you , Nabiki , but outside of what you experience in life ." " Are you another damned Freudian ? Well listen Id , I am the Ego and if you don't start doing what I say I'm calling the Superego out to help me ." " Call away ." The woman smirked in a very familiar fashion . " You asked for it !" She cried in triumph . Ranma suddenly appeared at her side . " Eh ?" The woman looked surprised at the manifestation . " He's your choice of Superego ? Your conscience and protector ?" " He's my version of Ranma ." She patted Ranma on the shoulder . " I've idealized him more than a bit , but who would be a better choice ?" " Mother Teresa , or Kasumi ." " Who would be a better choice for me ?" She quipped . " Oh....anyway , shouldn't you be sending him to attack me so I can demonstrate the futility of it ?" " Oh yeah ." She nodded . " Ranma , make her kneel to me ." " Why ? She hasn't done anything ." Ranma looked at her quizzically . " Bad choice to try to use your moral sense as an enforcer ." The woman smiled . With an annoyed thought she poofed Ranma away again . " Alright , lets cut the crap and get to the chase ." She sighed . " Who are you and why are you in my dream ?" " Call me by whatever name you like ." The woman said . " I assure you I have been called worse ." She added , seeing Nabiki smile momentarily . " I'll call you Id then ." Nabiki manifested a chair for her to sit in . " Now , why are you here ?" " To ask you things that you would never answer truthfully in the waking world , outside of the privacy of your mind ." Id leaned forward with a slightly predatory look about her . " Once I have answered your silly questions then will you leave me to my own dreams ?" She rolled her eyes , this girl was doing nothing that she wasn't a master of . Who did she think she was dealing with ? " Yes , yes , then you can have your threesome with Ranma and Ryouga ." Id gestured vaguely , but failed to stifle a giggle when Nabiki reacted . " Yea-HEY ! I was most definitely not doing to dream about that !" " Oh yes , that was last night ." Id nodded . Nabiki gave the woman the coldest stare she could . " May I ask why you find it necessary to dig into my memories of NON-lucid dreams I've had ?" " You may ask but I won't answer ." Id manifested her own chair and sat down facing Nabiki . " Let's get this over with ." She sniffed , acting as if she cared not . " Very well , Nabiki , I ask you again what do you desire ?" " I desire many things , everyone does ." She answered evenly . " Fair enough . Do any of these desires pertain to Saotome Ranma ?" " Yes ." The middle Tendo daughter answered without outward reaction . " Do you desire Ranma for yourself ?" Id asked , nodding to the space that Superego Ranma had occupied only moments before . " How many girls wouldn't , on one level or another ?" She gave the other woman a suggestive look . " I'll take that as a conditional yes ." Id nodded , ignoring Nabiki's implied comment . " What would you do to obtain Ranma for yourself ?" " Nothing ." Nabiki snorted . " He's Akane's . I would never even dream of taking him from her ." " Oh but yo-" " It was a figure of speech and you know it !" " Sorry ." " I desire Ranma ," She admitted , but with a raised hand to quell any comments before she was finished . " but then again I also desire to rule the world . Both of which I know I will never have . There're childish fantasies , that's all they are , fantasies . I know that if I were the one engaged to Ranma I would probably have had a tougher time of it that even Akane has . She nearly died only a few weeks ago !" " I see ." Id replied , her expression professionally unreadable . " What about you ?" Nabiki countered . " What do you desire ? What do you yearn for in private that you know you will never have ?" Id was completely silent , her eyes drifting down to the space at her feet . Nabiki thought she saw tears in the other woman's eyes . " I desire to be released from my duty , so that I'm never alone again ." Id whispered , as if some god might hear and be enraged by such words . Then the woman looked up again , the professional mask back in place . " So , there is nothing you would have done , past or present , to change what Ranma has done ?" " What do you mean change ?" Nabiki inquired cautiously . " Let me tell you something that will not surprise you in the least . Ranma is in trouble . Deep trouble . He's angered something that should never be angered . This boy has ruined the harmony of a force that needs balance of mind more than anything else ." " You're right , I'm not surprised ." Nabiki leaned back into her chair . " So who did Ranma piss off this time ? The eighth lucky god ? Saffron's big brother so someone more powerful ?" " How close you are , yet so far ." Id said lightly , despite the seriousness of her expression . " So how does this concern me ? I know it has to some how ." " I need not say just how heavy Ranma's punishment will be . But I must tell you that unless you deem it otherwise , much of the weight of Ranma's punishment will fall upon you sister , Akane . " Nabiki sat bolt upright . " How ?" " The price that Ranma must pay can only be paid by both himself and his unwitting accomplice , Akane . If Akane pays this price with Ranma she could quite possibly die . Ranma cannot pay the price alone . However , the one who is charged to exact this price can shift much of the burden to Ranma . Sparing your sister's life . However , this will almost certainly kill Ranma ." Nabiki took a deep breath , trying to clear her mind despite the paradox of already being in it . " Alright , but why ask me ? How do I have any say in this ?" The other woman stared into her eyes , as if searching for something . " You , because Kasumi would be forever paralyzed with indecision . You , because Soun's mind could not tolerate the concept of letting a loved one die as his wife , your mother , died . Akane and Ranma do not have any say in this ." " Why the hell not ?!" She snapped , suddenly incensed . " It's their lives that we're talking about !" " Do they ask a criminal if he would like to be punished or not ?" Id asked reasonably . " What crime has Ranma committed !?" Nabiki narrowed her eyes . " Hubris , defiance of nature's laws , insubordination to the powers that be , pissing off what no one ever should , call it whatever you like , but call it two counts ." " So , because of something Ranma did I have to decide whether or not he's going to die and take my sister with him ?" Nabiki eased back into her chair , trying to take a assessment of how deep the trouble was . " Yes ." Id nodded . " Wait , none of this even makes sense . Why were you asking me about desires if all of this was about Ranma's punishment ?" " It would have been so much easier to manipulate you into unwittingly making a judgement . Your mind would be free of guilt due to ignorance . However , you are much too stubborn and time grows short ." " Hold on a second ! What do you mean 'time grows short' ?" " If you do not make a decision then by default -if you will- the punishment will fall upon both with equal measure ." Nabiki stared at the woman before her and knew what it meant to hate . " I have to decide who's life is more important to me , Ranma or Akane's . Then I chose Akane , damn you , I chose Akane to live . Shift whatever it is over to Ranma ." " It is done ." The woman closed her eyes and faded away like mist . **** (Three minuets earlier) ---- " Whoa......what happened ?" Ranma blinked . He had just been beating Ryouga , Happosai , and Herb all at once when everything suddenly turned into a black void . Had there been stars he would have thought he was in space . A woman appeared before him . She had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen . Just the sight of her inspired a awe that only his natural caution fought down . " Alright , who're you ?!" He demanded , falling into a fighting stance . " That will keep for now . So , before then , may I ask you a few things ?" The woman seemed familiar somehow . " What's going on ? What happened to Ryouga , the Freak and Herb ?" " This is a dream ." The woman replied . " Huh ?" " Yes , you're dreaming ." The woman clarified patiently . Ranma thought for a moment . The last thing he could remember before the fright started was going to bed . " Weird ." Ranma shrugged . He'd heard about lucid dreams before , but he had never actually had one . " So , could you answer a few questions for me ?" The woman asked . " Uh ... sure I guess ." He shrugged again . " I mean you're just a figment of my imagination , right ?" The woman smiled for a moment . " Do you love Akane ?" " Glad this is a dream , yeah , I do ." Ranma marveled at how easy it was to say when he knew no one would hear him . " What would you do for her ?" " I'm going to protect her as long as I live ." He proclaimed , feeling rather good about himself at the moment . After all he had just been taking on three of his toughest opponents and winning hands down . Man , dreams were fun . " What would you do to save her from death or fates worse ?" Now he grew grim . " Anything . Absolutely anything ." " Even if it meant that you might never see her again ?" " Of course ." He nodded gravely . " Even if she lost her memory of me or somethin' I'd still do anything ." " So , no crime is to great if it's for her sake ? No punishment to severe to suffer for her ?" " Hold on a second ." He put his hands up . " Whaddya mean crime ? If you mean stealing medicine to save her , then sure . But I can't think of any crime other than that that would save her from something ." " What about punishment ? Would you take years of torture to spare her ?" Ranma gulped , this was getting scary . " Yeah , I would ." " Would you kill to save her ?" " Yeah ." He hung his head , remembering Saffron . This was getting way to complicated for easy ethical answers . " Do you think she would do any of these for you ?" " I....I don't know ." He breathed softly . " Can you stop now ? I don't want to answer any more questions ." The woman looked down at his feet , her face obscured by her hair . " Very well , I have heard enough . You may ask what you will ." Finally , his turn . " Alright , who are you and why are you here ?" The woman looked up at him with eyes that blazed rage . Eyes that held all the anger off the ages . And it was directed at him . Oh shit . " I am the one you have sinned against , and I am here to deliver your punishment !" " Now what'd I do ?" He snorted , disgusted with himself , it seemed like he had to piss three people off every time he made one person happy . " You have sinned against Death ." The woman proclaimed in tones that froze his body down to the marrow . In instant the woman was gone , replaced by a figure his own height , dressed in a Shinto priest's robes , but without flesh upon his form . Two pinpoints of white light shone out from empty eye sockets . YOU HAVE SINNED AGAINST ME . Death proclaimed in a voice that resonated from the fabric of reality itself . Ranma fought not to be overwhelmed by it alone . Death waved a robed arm as it spoke . Suddenly they were standing on a high hill overlooking a bloody battle that Ranma would never forget . Ranma watched in trepidation as the other Ranma down below tore the God Saffron limb from limb in blind rage . YOU HAVE SLAIN A GOD . Voiced Death . NO MORTAL HAND SHOULD EVER STAY THE IMORRTAL LIFE . THIS IS YOUR FIRST SIN AGAINST ME . Once more the hand of bone brandished . Now they stood behind Ranma as he held Akane's limp form in his arms , weeping . Akane's face remained ashen and inert to the sorrow of a young man . Then color returned , moments later her eyes fluttered open again . The light of a soul behind them . YOU TOOK HER FROM ME . THIS IS YOUR SECOND SIN . " What the hell !?" Ranma shouted at the skeletal figure . " I had to go through Saffron to save Akane !" BUT YOU FAILED . AKANE DIED . YOU KILLED A GOD . THEN YOU TOOK HER FROM ME . " Saffron's been reborn ! He's not dead !" Ranma protested . MY DOING . A BALANCE NEEDED TO BE RESTORED . " Akane didn't die , she-" WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHO LIVED AND WHO DIED ? I AM DEATH . AKANE DID DIE , I HELD HER SOUL . BUT YOU TORE HER FROM ME BEFORE SHE COULD BE GUIDED ! It was if everything shook with each wrathful word . Pain throbbed through Ranma as Death continued to speak . YOU , A MORTAL , TOOK HER FROM ME AND BOUND HER SOUL BACK TO HER BODY . " H-how ? I don't know what you're talking about !" NO , YOU DO NOT . Death agreed , the world around Ranma seemed to calm . Ranma only hoped this calm was not the eye of the storm . I WILL EXPLAIN . YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO UNDERSTAND . Death voiced . LET US USE METAPHOR , AS I DOUBT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND YOUR SIN OTHERWISE . LET US STIPULATE THAT YOU EXIST IN THREE PARTS , A COPOREAL BODY , A SOUL , AND ENERGY TO BIND THE TWO . YOU CALL A PORTION OF THIS ENERGY'S SPECTRUM 'KI' . THIS IS THE THREAD THAT BINDS THE SOUL TO THE BODY . WITHOUT THE BODY THE THREAD DISSOLVES AND THE SOUL IS RELESED INTO MY CARE TO GUIDE IT TO IT'S ULTIMATE FATE . DO YOU UNDERSTAND SO FAR , SAOTOME RANMA ? " I guess so ." He said tentatively . AFTER AKANE'S THREAD HAD SINCE DISSIOVED AND HER SOUL FLED YOU TORE A PORTION OF YOUR OWN THREAD TO BIND HER SOUL BACK TO HER BODY . AKANE'S LIFE ONLY REMAINS BOUND TO THE MORAL COIL BY YOUR OWN THREAD . I HAVE WAITED UNTIL HER OWN THREAD HAS STARTED TO FILL IN WHERE YOUR OWN COULD NOT EXTEND . NOW THAT SHE MIGHT YET PERSERVERE THROUGH YOUR PUNISHEMT I HAVE COME . HOWEVER , I HAVE BEEN MOVED BY YOU . IT IS NOT MY NATURE TO BE WRATHFUL , SO I AM PREPARED TO OFFER YOU AN ALTERNITIVE TO WHAT I HAD PLANNED . Death paused , eyes of light roving over Ranma . WILL YOU SUFFER UNDER YOUR OWN TORMENT , YOUR OWN WORST NIGHTMARE , FOR EVERY DAY THAT AKANE HAS LIVED UNTIL THIS ONE ? OR WILL YOU LET ME DO WHAT I HAD PLANNED ? Ranma prayed that his foot would not find his mouth . " I hate to ask , but what exactly did you have planned that would make a seventeen year long nightmare a better alternative ?" THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT . Ranma stood there , staring Death in the eye . His mind offering only questions , not answers . Oh well , ask a question then . " Why are you giving me a choice if what I did was so bad ?" The young martial artist could feel the world lighten around him for a brief moment . BECAUSE IT WAS A CRIME OF INNOCENCE . " Will this alternative hurt Akane ?" YES . " Will what you had planned hurt her more ?" YES . " Then I have no choice ." THERE IS ALWAYS CHOICE , RANMA . ONLY YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF NO CHOICE . " I choose the alternative , if it will harm Akane less than the other thing ." THEN SUFFER , SAOTOME RANMA , SUFFER AS ONLY YOU CAN TORTURE YOURSELF . Death faded away as the abyss opened and engulfed him . Then the pain started . He screamed . The pain only grew worse as images and forms grew from the abyss . Ranma screamed again . But the pain would not be stopped by that . He screamed louder , from the primal depths within . But the pain would not be released . Ranma could not feel his limbs splintering boards as he thrashed . Such was not Ranma's world . Ranma's world was anguish . Claws of ebony tore at him , pronged pain lashing out from the abyss that had engulfed him . A girl told him that his heart meant nothing to her but something for her to hate . A man in a white gi hurled him further into the abyss , screaming encouragement to the ebony claws . A mother stood so far away , an endless blade bridged the abyss between Ranma and her , but the only way was to walk the killing edge . Ranma writhed , Ranma howled , Ranma knew there was to be no reprieve . Not for seventeen years ... ---- " Not Akane ." Nabiki whispered . " You said you'd spare her ." She prayed . " She's still breathing ." Kasumi said to her father . " Ranma !" Soun whirled around . Assured of his youngest's continued survival he rushed over to Ranma . " Snap out of it son !" Strong hands shook the inert form , Ranma unfolded like a limp doll . Tears steamed down Nabiki's face , tears that had not fallen since her mother's funeral . She turned and ran from the room . This was all her fault . Had she made a deal with a demon ? Could she have prevented this ? She found herself on her bed , sobbing into a pillow . Oh , how could she have done this , even to save Akane ? Akane's eyes opened weakly . She looked up into the tearstained face of her eldest sister . " How's Ranma ?" The youngest Tendo rasped . " He's fine , he doesn't seem to be in any pain anymore ." Kasumi assured her little sister . " Idiot , scaring me like that ..." Akane mumbled before fainting . Once she was sure that Akane had merely fainted , Kasumi looked to her father . " He's still alive ." Soun said gravely . " But I can barely feel a heartbeat ." ---- It was over ? After what seemed like an eternity in hell , falling through the abyss , he had fallen out the other side ? What the hell ? Now it seemed he was sitting in the waiting room of a hospital . HELLO . " DWAAA !" Ranma yelped , as he turned around . Death sat next to him , reading an issue of some foreign magazine . NOW WAS THAT SOUL SHATTERING ? He nodded dumbly . People walked by , but no one seemed to notice either of them . WAS IT WORSE THAN YOU COULD HAVE IMAGINED ? Again he nodded . GOOD . NOW DON'T GO KILLING GODS AND RAISING THE DEAD AGAIN . OR AT LEAST ASK ME ABOUT IT FIRST . " Ask you ?" He blinked . WELL , LET'S SAY THAT I LIKE YOU , RANMA . THINK ABOUT HOW MANY TIMES YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED . " Er...lots ?" He didn't feel like estimating anything . His mind still echoed from nigh-eternal torment . " So you've been watching me ?" SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN . Death voiced before dissolving into a mist for a moment . When the mist resolved the woman from so long ago was back . She laughed , such a musical sound . " Although I don't know about the other incarnations . They were out for you too , but I closed a deal before them ." " What ?" He gulped . " Although , I had the advantage over them . I'm constantly doing these 'lets make a deal' things . But the incarnation of Evil came real close to getting Ryouga to cooperate ." " Wha-I-he-....never mind , I don't wanna hear about it ." He shook his head for a while . It seemed clearer now , although far from what it should be . Ranma looked around again then at her . " Why are you a woman ?" " Why shouldn't I be a woman ? I'm a force of the universe ." She sat up straight . " I rather like this form , it's what my last friend looked like . She and I were good friends for seventy years until the day she died , two hundred years ago ." " ....whatever , I should be used to weird my now . Why shouldn't I be friends with Death ? I'm a cursed martial artist with three fiancées , a little demon of an old man for a master and a panda father . It makes as much sense as all the rest , right ?" He sounded just a tad hysterical to himself . Death smiled at him in a way he could not help but compare to Kasumi . That alone left him with the conclusion his mind still had a few cracks in it from his recent punishment . " I still don't know what to call you ." He continued , unconsciously rubbing his forehead with one hand . " Name me ." She ordered . " Keiko ." He said for reasons he couldn't quite pin down in his current mental state . " Then I'm Kayama Keiko , your cousin and childhood friend ." Keiko smiled at him mischievously . " Just tell that to everyone when we get home ." Ranma opened his mouth to protest when he realized just how stupid it would be trying to tell Death not to do something it...she wanted to do . He looked around again at the waiting they occupied . " Keiko , why are we here , and how come nobody notices us ?" " Because , we are not actually here . This is Nerima General Hospital , seventeen years ago . We , are really in your mind , well , mostly in your mind that is . I pulled some strings -the other incarnations have short attention spans once punishment is over- and got you a special treat that may make those seventeen years of torment a little more worthwhile ." " Did it for Akane , that's what makes it worthwhile ." He stated . " This has everything to do with Akane ." Keiko nodded . " I just thought that all the horror would wear on your poor mind . I just wanted to give you something that would allow you to repress and replace those memories ." " What ?" " Watch ." Keiko gave him a knowing smile . A nurse came into the room . Everyone stood up at once . For the first time Ranma realized that everyone in the room was male . " Tendo-san , it's a girl ." The nurse smiled at a much younger Soun . " Another girl !" Soun seemed bewildered but ecstatic all the same . " Please follow me , Tendo-san ." The nurse motioned for Soun to accompany her down the hall . " Go on ." Keiko urged . " Follow him , and remember to be patient ." With that said Death faded away . Shaking his head he got to his feet and hurried to catch up with Soun . Only a few rooms down the hall the nurse directed Soun inward . Ranma followed , feeling odd that no one acknowledged his presence even though everything seemed solid enough to him . Inside he saw a woman he had never seen before except as a photograph . Akane's mother . And the little pink squirming thing she held wrapped in a blanket had to be Akane . Only a few minutes old . Ranma sat down on the floor hard . Emotions of all kinds overwhelming him . By the time he felt in control again everyone had left , save for little Akane and her mother . Both lay asleep in the dim light streaming through the hospital curtains . Cautiously he approached the crib beside the bed . To his surprise the little baby's eyes opened a fraction and Akane began to cry . Ranma began to panic . " Shhh , shhh , shhh ." He leaned down and tried to quiet the child . Before he thought better of it he reached into the crib and stroked her soft head . His hand looked bigger than her entire body . " Shhh , Akane , it's just me ." He said , marveling at how tiny she was . Akane stopped crying before her mother could wake up . A tiny hand tried to grasp one of his fingers . Ranma laughed , too busy to notice that he was interacting with her when nothing else seemed to acknowledge his existence . -- The next day he had to walk from the hospital all the way to the Tendo household . Surprisingly it looked different . The yard had a few small trees , some rose bushes , only the house and Dojo remained as he knew they were to be . He got there long after Akane's mother and little Akane had . But when he walked in it was to a house a bustle with two children and a baby . Kasumi raced about talking incoherently about her new baby sister . Nabiki , thought the new baby was a new toy that never seemed to do the same thing twice . Ranma took to standing in the corner of rooms , watching events unfold as the ghostly observer he now was . -- Akane grew at a phenomenal rate . Before he knew to expect it she was crawling around the house , chasing Nabiki or -naturally- playing baby while Kasumi played mother . He shared Soun's pride when Akane took her first steps . And he marveled at her eyes , so bright , full of energy and wonder . -- One day Ranma broke his usual habit of standing in the background , and crowded around with the Tendo family as Akane was about to say her first word . " waaBLLLL !" Akane treated them all to a raspberry and giggled . " Any day now ." Soun told himself and left the room . " I was so sure ..." His wife followed . " waablll !" Nabiki returned Akane's raspberry . " waablll !" Kasumi joined in before tottling off , Nabiki in hot pursuit . Akane looked around before settling her eyes on him . Over the months he had noticed that she could most definitely see and hear him , but he was probably transparent because she usually ignored him if someone else was in the room . But they were alone again . So he knelt by her crib and tickled her side . Feeling the incorporeal touch she giggled and squirmed with delight . " But you're not supposed to like boy's , eh ?" He smiled and relented long enough for her to catch her breath . " I'm a boy ." " Boy ." She said . He froze for a moment . Seeing his funny reaction , she said it louder . " Boy !" In and instant the entire Tendo family was back in the room , ears straining to hear . " BooooooooY !" Akane crowed before falling over and sucking her thumb . -- Ranma knew that he had probably not changed a day since finally escaping his nightmare . But he could not help but feel old as he watched Akane play in the trees with her friends . She was almost eight . He had been watching her day and night for almost eight years now . Never needing to eat , drink or anything . He was here to watch her grow up and that was all he wanted to do . So he climbed the tree too . An easy enough thing considering that it barely even reacted to his weight , as if it was there but only partially . " Can't get up this high , can you ?" Akane taunted a boy on the ground . " You'll fall if you don't pay attention !" The boy's sister warned . " I'm fine . See ! no hands !" Akane raised her hands and waved . She started to slide off the limb almost immediately . Not thinking , he reached out and scooped her up just as she had left the limb . In one motion he leapt and took her into his arms . The ground rushed up to meet them , Akane cringed as they fell . " I may be able to touch her , but I'm still not solid ." He thought in the moment between the ground and them . So he rolled , to place his body between the ground and Akane . He felt no pain upon impact , only the tingle as Akane passed through him , onto the ground . He panicked , it hadn't worked ! " Akane !" One of her friends rushed over . " Are you hurt bad ?" " ...No...I'm alright I think ." Akane answered , puzzled by her own uninjured state . He rolled away and stood . Akane had already gotten to her feet and was rubbing her sore bottom . After a awkward moment someone piped up . " Well , she's alright so let's go do something else ." " Right , no more tree climbing !" Akane agreed . With nothing more said the small band of children ran off . Leaving him to stare . Had he ever been allowed to be that carefree at seven ? -- As Akane grew older she lost the ability to see him . But in times of stress or in the uncertainty of night she could still hear him and feel him . This night she needed him . This night they had gotten the call from Soun at the hospital . Mother was never coming home again . Akane lay on her bed curled up around a pillow , sobbing so hard he sometimes thought she might hurt herself . He could do nothing more than sit beside her and hold her with intangible arms and sooth her with words she might not hear . " It's alright ." He leaned down an whispered into her ear . " It'll never be alright ." He heard her sob . " It hurts , doesn't it ?" " S-s-so much ." " But it won't always hurt so much ." He said , his mind searching for words the imagined Kasumi might say . " Do you know that your mother is watching us ?" " W-wha..." Akane stopped sobbing , she lay there , motionless , waiting for his next words . " I'm afraid that she'll always be watching you now . No way to hide , she'll always be there with you ." " I can't hear her ." Ranma fought his mind for the words . Come on , he had been with Akane since she was a few minutes old , he should have learned a thing or two about parenting from osmosis at least ! THINK ! What would Kas- what would Akane's mother say ? " Do you need to hear your voice to know you're around ?" " no ...." " You are a part of your mother . She is a part of you . Carry her with you as she watches you . It hurts now , I know , but it won't always hurt so much ." Akane said no more as she quietly cried now until her tears stopped after sleep had taken her . Even then he did not leave her side . But something told him to look up . There across the room stood two women he would never forget . Keiko , and beside her , Akane's mother . Before he could say anything the woman that had given birth to and raised Akane nodded to him in loving , but sorrowful approval before fading away . -- Oh Gods in heaven here we go again . Ranma rolled his eyes and continued to read the paper over Soun's shoulder . " DADDY !" Akane yelled down the stairs . " DADDY don't listen to her !" Nabiki yelled at the same time . " She stole my CD player !" Akane accused . " She gave it to me for collateral on a loan !" Nabiki voiced at the same time . " I did not !" " You did so !" Thirteen was not a good age for Akane . Only four more years to go . -- " You can do this , Akane ." He urged , knowing full well that the fifteen year old had long ago lost the ability to hear him . Nowadays , she could only feel his presence as a suspicion in times of emotional crisis . When logic could not remind her that such a presence was impossible . The fifteen year old girl marched up when her name was called . She had advanced through the local tournaments , taking the highest scores for both kata and kumite . Now she stood before the judges of a National tournament . Her voice shook slightly as she announced her kata after bowing . Once she was sure the judges were watching she launched into her kata . It was perfect ...well as perfect as could be expected of a fifteen year old . He felt his chest swelling with pride . He knew she could do it , after all , he had seen her begin her training and had watched her every day . However , it came as a complete shock when Akane cried out . He watched , helpless , as her leg slid out from under her , an unchecked puddle of sweat betraying her . She fell to the mat without a sound . She stood without a sound , and resumed her kata as if nothing had happened . " YEAH !" He cheered . If anything the judges should giver her high marks for a graceful recovery from such a fall . However , their faces were regretful as they held up their scores once Akane had finished . She took sixth place , losing fifth by only a half a point . " That's me...the klutz ...the clumsy idiot ..." Akane cried to herself in the locker-room after the others had left . He sat beside her and cursed himself for his inability to give any comfort . Then he felt someone coming , someone powerful . " Tendo Akane ?" A middle aged woman entered , she had been one of the judges . " Yes ?" Akane answered , quickly trying to hide her tears . " I just wanted to say that I was most impressed ." The woman sat down on the other side of Akane . " I looked into your record and I have to say that it's not every day that someone comes out of nowhere and takes the tournament circuit by storm like you have ." " W-what ?" " All the girls that placed above you , none of them made it to nationals their first time through . The girl that took first . She's been to nationals three times and she only took first by one point . You're a prodigy , Akane , and I look forward to seeing you next time ." That said , the woman gave Akane a pat on the shoulder and left while the young teen was too shocked to reply . " I knew it ." He smiled at Akane , who looked through him at the door . " I knew you could do it . Next time there won't be a puddle to stand in your way , Akane ." -- " Alright , what's gonna happen ?" He asked himself while Akane walked in front of him on the way home from school . " If I remember right , I'm gonna show up with Pop this evening . So what happens then ?" Would Death take him back to his body ? Would he merge into his own body and sort of have a second chance at things ? Or would something completely different happen ? Probably the latter . " Akane , I have an offer from Kuno ." Nabiki jogged to catch up with her little sister . " Tell him that he can go feed himself to his sister's pet ." Akane sniffed . " That would solve a lot of problems ." Ranma agreed , being able to chime in without worrying about being clobbered for ANYTHING he could say had its advantages . " Seriously , shouldn't you find some way of getting rid of Kuno ?" Nabiki asked once she had caught up . " Find a boyfriend that can swat him or something ?" Akane stopped walking , and waited for Nabiki to stop also . " Nabiki , you know very well that all boys are sick perverts that want nothing more from me than to get into my pants ." " Dress ." Nabiki pointed to the school jumper they both wore . " Whatever !" Akane snapped . " They're all sex crazed . I'm waiting until the testosterone simmers down , like when I'm in college ." Akane started walking again , Nabiki fell in step beside her . " Date a college guy then ." " Nabiki !" " What ?" Nabiki looked genuinely baffled . " You're sixteen , he'd be nineteen or twenty for a freshmen . What's so wrong with the girl being three or four years younger ?" " It just is ." " Mother was three years younger than Daddy ." Nabiki pointed out . " But that was different ." Akane quipped . " So what if it was an arranged marriage ?" " You're impossible !" Akane threw up her hands . Nabiki merely giggled . Ranma just walked along and laughed . -- Ranma sat in Akane's room and thought . Akane sat at her desk and struggled against the most illogical and accursed Human language in common use , English . The sounds of a certain young and dumb heir to the Anything Goes school of martial arts drifted up from the floor beneath . " I think I remember this argument ." Ranma thought . His other self was currently trying to get out of a loan payment from Nabiki . Tonight was the night that Death came for his punishment . This was the end of his watch over his betrothed . Seventeen long years , he felt much older now . But he had never found a mirror to see his face , so he could not be sure if he had aged in his ghostly form . Yet , he still felt so much older . Which was why he detested the person downstairs . The immature brat that had never been raised properly . " I guess I needed another seventeen years away from Pop to fix what went wrong with the first seventeen ." Ranma thought to himself . Soon the house grew quiet as those that lived there went to bed one by one . After he was sure Akane was asleep he set off to where his former self was sleeping . Someone he had not seen in a very long time stood over the Ranma that lay in slumber . " Keiko ." He said . " Do you understand why I did this ?" Death asked as she knelt by the mumbling boy . " So I could learn ." He began , he had had years to think of an answer to that one question . " Learn about myself , about Akane , about life as it should be and as it is . I needed seventeen years to grow up , and you let me grow up along with Akane . I learned to wait , to watch , to listen , and to love her for who she is and not who I thought she was ." Death smiled , it was the most beautiful sight he had seen in thirty four years , outside of nature's miracles . " Then let us close this circle . Ending at the beginning is best I think ." As she spoke the tall , skeletal form of Death faded in beside her . Death looked from Ranma to the future Death . I AM GLAD I KNOW THE ENDING TO THIS JOURNEY . -- Ranma woke to the sound of voices . " He's still alive ." Soun said gravely . " But I can barely feel a heartbeat ." Ranma opened his eyes and realized that Death had taken him . But Death had also spared him . " That took entirely too long ." He rasped . Glad to finally be home again . Many times he had yearned to take Akane into his arms just once . To hold her when she was crying , to feel the warmth of her hand when they walked together . Now he would do those things , now he had learned to love such things . Then again , he also had a few new problems now that so many old ones were solved . Such as , how to explain to everyone who Keiko was when she showed up tomorrow ? Oh well , that was for the future , he had had his fill of the past . Soun watched with concern as his future son in law drifted off into natural slumber . The Tendo patriarch would have sworn that Ranma had looked as if at the end of a long , but joyful journey . Unnoted by those still awake a figure stood in the hall . INDEED , TENDO . Death voiced , the words unheard by anything living . TOMORROW WE WILL START A JOURNEY TOGETHER RANMA . BUT THAT IS TOMORROW . So Death faded from the Tendo home . Pleased with the night's work , the sin's price and the gift's fulfillment .