Leifker (yes, I am alive, thank you very much) presents... Journeys A work of anime fanfiction by Nicholas Leifker All Ranma ½ characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. All rights reserved. I must ask that you not do anything with any part of this work without the author's permission. Amazing what can happen sometimes... ********************************************************************* Ranma Saotome brought out his backpack, and began to pack with practiced efficiency. Clothes and other provisions went in with an urgency normally not found in the martial artist, an urgency necessitated by circumstance. The wishing spring was theirs for the taking, theirs for the _curing_, but only if he and Ryouga made it there swiftly. There could be - would be - no mistakes this time, no random events to bring tragedy to the expedition. By all he held holy, he _would_ be cured of his curse. Truth to tell, he feared that he had already waited too long. If he'd been searching actively for a cure, rather than waiting here to sort out his many problems, he'd have been rid of it long ago. But no - instead he wasted three years of his life dealing with every crisis imaginable, rueing his curse all the while. Now, though... he would be free of it. "So. You're going, then." Ranma looked up. The woman who stood at the doorway was so changed from the girl he first met and fell in love with. Nature's gift had matured her curves to something more flattering, and gave a sharp look to the once-babyish face. She stared back at him with dark eyes, softly written with disappointment. Ranma stood up tall and proud to face her - just the way he wanted to be. "Akane, I -" "I know. ‘I have to get cured.' Just like you ‘had' to go on that date with Shampoo for that instant Nannichuan, or ‘had' to break into the girls' locker room for the Japanese spring." Ranma winced. This was not a conversation he wanted to deal with right now. His fiancee sighed, letting her exasperation escape. "Fine, Ranma. I... can deal with that. Just tell me why." The words came to him like a recording. "I have to be a whole man." "Do you?" The question shot from Akane's mouth. "Is it so bad... being a woman on occasion?" For once, Ranma stopped before saying anything. He stared down at his feet, unable to look her in the eye. "To be honest... no. It isn't really that bad - heck, it's even been fun at times. But... it's not me, not who I want to be." He turned away to the window, losing himself in the view. "Akane... do you know how hard it is to face my parents in my cursed form? To face _you_? As a girl, I am not who I want to be, not who Mom or Pop or anyone else expect me to be. And that knowledge... that I'm nothing near the man I should be... that kills me sometimes." The first thing Ranma noticed was a tingle, a familiar warning of the intrusion of magic into his life. Next came the numbness, a defense mechanism of the body to shield the mind from things too confusing to translate. Once the body was settled in its new form, odd sensations assaulted the mind, letting her know of the change wrought. Ranma turned around, angry at yet another personal violation. "Akane, whad'ya do thmmmph!!" The dark-haired woman quickly kissed Ranma, holding her now-smooth face in her hands. Ranma stood there, shocked beyond belief, then hesitatingly wrapped her arms around her. After what seemed an eternity, the pair let go, breathless from the intimate contact. "Baka." Akane's words were soft, without anger. "Ranma... I love _you_. Not your body, not your ‘manhood'... but your soul." Tears shimmered in Akane's eyes. "Ranma, do you remember that mess with the Chisuiton? When I heard that Hoorai-san had collapsed, I thought... I feared you were gone. I... I didn't know how to take it. All I felt was this emptiness, this dark feeling that I'd just lost everything important to me. "Ranma, I don't care if you turn into a woman on occasion. I wouldn't care if you were a woman all the time. I _love_ you. Please, Ranma... don't leave me alone again." She hugged Ranma close, afraid to let go. The martial artist broke the embrace, and locked eyes with her once more. "Akane, I... I love you, too. I... I just... I still have to go. If it were just me, I wouldn't. But Ryouga..." Akane flared for a moment, then calmed. This was not a good time to bring up old angers. "Ranma, you have to stop blaming yourself for everyone's problems. He followed you to Jusenkyo, didn't he? He placed himself in a dangerous position, and fell in." The dark-haired woman looked away for a moment. "Ranma, if you're going to go no matter what, fine. But this time, you're not going alone." "Huh?" "I'm going with you." "What? Akane, please, I don't want -" She cut her words off at the look in Akane's eyes - the hurt and frustration that normally accompanies rejection. She knew Akane's wish to be taken seriously as a martial artist, and how her words cut at that. Knowing there to be no other real option, she acquiesced. Akane smiled, and put a hand to Ranma's cheek. "Thanks, Ranma," she whispered, saying whole stories with those two words. She gave Ranma a gentle kiss and went to pack, leaving her by herself... but by no means alone. ********************************************************************* Hello. Truth to tell, I was on a bit of a sabbatical when I wrote this. I've become accustomed to writing by computer, and the old pencil-and-paper method I used to write my early works wasn't working. So... I decided to wait until I actually got a computer before writing again. After a nice talk with Chris Willmore, I got this fun little scene in my head, and wrote it up in one night. One thing I've discovered is that there are a couple of types of projects that I write. One type encompasses the long and drawn-out works, with complex ideas and characters (re. Sunrise, Kurobara, Circe). The other is the kind of idea which begs to be written immediately. This is the fourth work of mine in that group, the first three being "A Man I'll Never Be", "The Home Front", and the original "Clothes Make The...". They usually tend to hit closer to home, and deal with ideas and emotions that I struggle with myself. Anyway, thanks... To Rumiko Takahashi, for creating these characters. To Doug Reeves, my ex-roommate. Kyrie eleison.... To all those who partied at A-Kon, especally a certain person who had to put up with my driving ^_- . BTW, you do realize you're going to pay for encouraging me to write that parody... To anyone else within the sound of my electronic voice right now, and to all those who helped me out over the past couple of months. I apologize if I don't reply right away. I'm guessing it will be a couple of weeks before I can reply; however, if you reply to this address, I will get it eventually. Good night, all. Nicholas Leifker stormwalker@airmail.net (at the moment) http://http.tamu.edu:8000/~nwl9354 June 8, 1997