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The characters of the Ranma 1/2 universe are the creation
and possession of the
brilliant Rumiko Takahashi.
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Hearts
of Ice
Part
22: Heaven and Hell, Part
Two by
Krista Perry ------------------------------------------------ "Ranma!"
Ranma
blinked as Akane's voice
floated up from the dark
mists that writhed and
curled beneath the towering,
jagged peak of the Mountain
of the Ancient One. Her voice pulled at him, filling him with an
incredulous joy that pierced
him to his core... and
a near wild-eyed panic.
Oh
crap! How
could she be here now?
Now, of all times?
Looking
over his shoulder, he
spared one last glance
at his lifeless body,
sprawled in the blood-soaked
dirt of the narrow mountain
path, before he turned
to look down the mountain.
Then
he moved.
He
moved without thought
or reason towards the
mists, running, but not
running, for he couldn't
feel his feet pound against
the ground, couldn't feel
the flow of air against
his skin, because he had
none with which to feel... "Ranma,
please answer me!"
She
was coming.
And he had to stop
her, somehow.
Even though he
was dead, nothing more
than an intangible ghost.
That
one thought focused in
his mind above all else.
He couldn't let
her find his body.
Because.
Because, if she
really loved him, like
she had said so long ago...
because if she felt even
an inkling of what he
felt for her... because
if their situations were
reversed and it was him
climbing the mountain,
and he stumbled upon her
body, broken and lifeless
on the rocky path... He
didn't even want to think
about it. She
was close now. He
could hear her crying.
Her faint, choking
sobs filtered up through
the mists... and Ranma
stumbled to an abrupt
halt. He stopped at the edge of the mists, on a part
of the path that he didn't
even recognize, and yet
he must have been there,
for his blood was splattered
across the ground in large,
dark droplets that had
yet to soak into the earth.
He stopped moving
and just stood there,
unconsciously clutching
his chest with one hand,
staring fearfully into
the mists because... Because
he was suddenly, desperately
afraid to see her. What
was he thinking?
He was dead! She probably wouldn't be able to see him or
hear him... and he couldn't
even touch her...
He
couldn't stop her.
She was going to
walk right by him and
never know he was there,
and she would find his
body... And
he could hear her weeping.
The sound tore
at his soul until he couldn't
bear it. "Akane,"
he cried hoarsely, helplessly.
"Don't..."
Don't
cry, don't come up here,
please don't. The
weeping stopped. "...
Ranma?" Ranma
blinked. She
could hear him? And
then, before his stunned
eyes, she emerged from
the mists... ------------------ ...and
she froze, her wet, glistening
eyes widening as she saw
him. The
blood belonged to someone
else.
He wasn't hurt.
He was safe. Her
hands trembled, fluttered
like nervous birds, moving
upwards to cover her mouth.
She could taste
the salt of her tears,
feel the wet streaks on
the skin of her face,
on her fingertips, and
suddenly, all she could
think about was what a
terrible mess she must
look like.
And
how beautiful he was.
He...
was perfect.
Just like she remembered
him.
So young, his braided
hair dark and tousled,
and he was still
wearing that red Chinese
shirt of his, and she
wanted to laugh, but she
didn't because she was
afraid that if she did,
she would wake up... And
his eyes.
He stood there,
staring at her, his mouth
hanging open slightly,
and his gaze was so open
and intense, she felt
unable to move, unable
to speak.
She
held her breath as his
blue eyes traced slowly
over her face, lingering
on the hollow of her cheek,
pausing to take in the
thin white line of a scar
that hadn't been there
five years earlier.
And then, slowly,
his gaze went to her hair...
her long hair that fell
to her waist, torn free
from its usual braid in
the heat of battle, matted
with her own blood...
And then her clothes,
torn, stained with blood
and ichor...
And
her heart was beating
so swift and loud that
she felt for sure that
he must hear it, and she
was ecstatic and delirious
with joy, and yet terrified... Oh...
what did he think of her?
------------------ Ranma
felt frozen. Some
distant corner of his
mind that wasn't completely
numb from shock was aware
that his mouth had sagged
open in amazement, and
that he hadn't blinked
in a long time; that he
might never blink again
because he just couldn't
stop staring.
Akane. She
could see him.
Hear him. And she was... was... He
swallowed hard. Oh... wow. So
many questions filled
him as he looked at her...
and yet, in that moment,
he couldn't find his voice
to ask a single one. Her
face.
Pale, smudged,
bloody and tear-streaked,
yet radiant in the cool
starlight. Her
hair.
Long, impossibly
long, tangled and wild.
Her
body, lean and strong...
taller somehow... and
yet her tattered, bloodstained
clothing couldn't hide
the soft, sweet familiar
curve of her shape...
His
mouth felt suddenly, impossibly
dry. And
her eyes.
Dark, wet with
tears... full of an unfamiliar
strength... and yet shadowed
by a terrible, raw loneliness;
a longing that he felt
echoed in his own soul.
The
blood spell was broken.
But too late.
Far too late for
her, for him... for them
both, Ranma realized,
and his eyes began to
sting. Akane... What's
happened to you? ------------------ Ranma was staring at her, his blue eyes almost luminescent with amazement, and yet he seemed stricken. Akane's breath caught in her throat as she saw a tear escape the corner of his eye and slide, unnoticed, down the pale skin of his cheek to linger, glistening, on the edge of his chin. |