####  ****  ####

The next morning, the Tendous and the remaining Saotome were
holding an impromptu meeting, trying to decide on their next move.
There was a knock on the door and Kasumi went to find out who
their visitor was.  She returned a moment later, followed by
Shampoo.  Shampoo looked angry; very angry indeed.

She looked around the room, eyes blazing, until her gaze settled on
Akane.  "Where Ranma?" she growled.

Akane matched Shampoo glare for glare.  "What makes you think *I*
know where Ranma is?" she asked.

"Pervert girl hide Ranma before.  Maybe you do it again!"

"Hide him from what?  Who's after him now?"

"Shampoo after Ranma - Shampoo want to know how Mousse beat
Ranma in fight!"

"Whaat?" Akane was incredulous.  "Mousse beat Ranma in a fight?"

"That what Mousse say.  Ranma challenge him to fight for Shampoo.
Mousse come back and say he win.  Give Shampoo picture as proof."
She held a photograph out for Akane and the others to see.

Akane snatched the photo from Shampoo.  "Let me see that!" she
said.  Sure enough, it was a picture of a bruised and battered Ranma,
sprawled on the ground, joints akimbo, eyes glazed, and obviously
quite unconscious.  Akane fought hard to hide her smile from the
other girl.  She would not have believed that Ranma could be that
clever.  The scene was one that she remembered well.

"Maybe you should tell us what happened from the beginning,"
Akane suggested.

Shampoo told the Tendous about Ranma's stop by the Nekohanten
the previous week, and what he had said about going on a training
trip.  She also told them that he had dropped off a letter of challenge
for Mousse - and that she had delivered it for him.  A couple days
after that, Mousse disappeared for a day or so, and returned ecstatic
over his having finally defeated Ranma.

Shampoo had asked Mousse where was Ranma, but Mousse had just
said that Ranma had been unable to face Shampoo after his defeat,
and that he had gone away.  Shampoo had thumped him to get him
to tell her where Ranma was, she had pleaded with him, but in the
end, she was forced to believe that Mousse had no idea where Ranma
had gone.

The photo had been making the rounds of those present, and had
finally gotten to Nabiki.  Nabiki's eyes widened as she got a good look
at the picture.  "Hey!  Isn't this one of..." <ooof!>

Akane cut her sister off with a hard nudge to the ribs.  "Nabiki... A
moment, if you don't mind?"  It was not a question.

Nabiki moved off a ways with her sister.  "What is it, Akane?"

"Don't tell her about that photo.  Please."

Reflexively, Nabiki started to reach for her soroban, but Akane
caught her wrist in a viselike grip.  "Don't even think it." she hissed.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  "You know that silence is expensive..."

Akane smiled darkly.  "Not nearly as expensive as your hospital stay
will be if I *ever* hear that you've told anyone about that photo."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed.  "That's blackmail."

"You should know."

"What if I tell them about the time you..."

"Go right ahead.  Tell anyone anything you like, just so you never
mention that photograph."  Akane's grip on Nabiki's wrist tightened.
"I mean it."

There was a tense moment before Nabiki nodded.  Akane was serious
about this one.  She smiled.  "Okay sis.  Don't worry.  You have my
word."

Akane gave her sister a relieved grin and released her to look back
over at Shampoo.  Kasumi was explaining that no one had seen
Ranma for the past week, and Shampoo did not look pleased to hear
it.  If it had been anyone but Kasumi telling her, she probably would
not have believed it.  But Akane didn't care.  Wherever he was,
Ranma was not with Shampoo, and that was all that mattered to her.
There was still hope.

####  ****  ####

<<Ring>>

Akane fidgeted as she held the phone, waiting for someone to
answer.  Behind her stood Soun, wringing his hands nervously, while
behind him, the panda just shook his head and snuffled at her.

"Do you really think this is a good idea, Akane?" Soun asked fretfully.
"Ranma would never..."

<<Ring>>

Akane glared at the her father.  "If you have a better idea, I'd love to
hear it, Otou-san..."

<<Ring>>  <<click>>  "Hello?"

"Hello?  Mrs. Saotome?"

"Yes, this is Mrs. Saotome...  Akane?  Is that you, Akane?"

Akane sighed.  "Yes, Aunt Saotome... it's me..."

"What's wrong, dear?  You sound upset..."

Taking a deep breath, a bit of a quaver still evident in her voice,
Akane asked, "Mrs. Saotome, please... Have you... have you heard
anything from Ranko in the past week or so?"

"From Ranko?  No... no, I haven't.  Is she all right?  What's
happened?"

"I hope so...  I don't know...  She's run away..."  Akane hung her head.

"Run away?  Oh dear.  A girl all alone like that - whatever could have
gotten into her?

"We, ah... sort of had a fight...  and, well, it was kind of a bad one..."

"Now, dear... You mustn't blame yourself."  Nodoka paused.  "Akane...
is there anything that I can do?"

"Just... if you see her... tell her that we'd really like for her to come
home...  please?"

"Of course, dear.  Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't suppose... wait... yes... yes there is.  If you should happen
to hear anything from Ranma... please let us know.  We'd like to tell
him about Ranko, and ask him to keep an eye out for her..."

"Of course I will, dear.  Let me know anything you find out, okay?"

"Hai.  Thank you, I will.  Good-bye..."

Akane hung up the phone, and sighed.  "You were right," she told the
panda sadly.  "He hasn't gone to see her..."

####  ****  ####

Akane had been wandering listlessly through the halls of the Tendou
home, lost in thought.  Eventually, she found herself standing by the
door to the room that Ranma had shared with his father.  After a
moment's hesitation, she knocked gently on the door.  There was no
answer.

<Baka> Akane chided herself.  <There's no one here.  What am I
knocking for?>  Angry with herself, she slid open the door and stared
into the room.

Like Genma before her, Akane was struck by the aura of wrongness
that hung over the room.  The difference was that she had been
expecting it.  Quietly, she stepped into the room and closed the door
behind her.

She had no idea what she expected to find.  There were no more
answers for her here than there were anywhere else in the dojo.  The
room itself was plain enough - the futon was rolled up and stored in
the cupboard - the bare tatami mats were cool and dry under her
stocking feet.  Only a few odd items betrayed the fact that anyone
lived there at all.

As Akane surveyed the room, her eyes fell on the stack of picture
frames that Genma had left on top of the tansu.  She didn't realise
what they were until she had taken a closer look - and like Genma
again, once she knew what they were, she wondered how she had
missed their absence from the walls.  Here, on the chest, they looked
lonely and forlorn - like broken toys whose owner had tired of them.
She repressed a shudder.

So he had taken his photographs with him.  She looked through the
stack - he had taken them all.  He was not, then, planning on
forgetting her.  Sadly, Akane did not think that most of his memories
would be happy ones.

As she headed towards the door, she looked around the room once
more.  Blank walls stared back at her.  The room looked as empty as
she felt.  Akane was shivering as she closed the door behind her.

####  ****  ####

Nabiki's investigations had not gotten very far.  It was extremely
frustrating.  Maybe Ranma *had* dropped off the face of the Earth.
There was certainly no trace of him that she could find.

None of his friends had seen him, Kunou had no ideas, but did not
seem sorry to hear that he was gone.  Gosunkugi had none, not even
Hiroshi or Daisuke had heard anything.

Dr. Tofu hadn't seen him since the day of the fight with Biiko, when
he had given him some hot water and bandaged a number of cuts
from the battle.

No one answered at either the Nekohanten, or the Ucchan.  It was
suspicious, she decided, but totally inconclusive.  She was pretty sure
that Shampoo knew nothing about Ranma's whereabouts, but if
Ukyou didn't answer her phone soon, Nabiki was going to go and see
her in person.

####  ****  ####

That evening Akane was sitting with a couple of her friends in the
kissaten near the dojo.  She was not paying much attention to the
conversation - rather, she was staring out into the gathering
darkness.  It was just beginning to snow again, big fat flakes drifting
lazily down to join their already fallen kin.  Their dance was
hypnotic, and Akane was soon lost to the world, drifting in thought.

<Ranma, where are you?> she wondered.  <Why were you asking me
all those questions?   Just what were you trying to get at?  Why, oh
why didn't I pay more attention?>  Akane sighed heavily, her breath
fogging the glass in front of her and breaking the spell.

"Akane!"

Akane realized with a start that someone was calling her name.  She
turned her attention back to her friends.

"Akane?  Are you okay?"  asked the dark haired girl across the booth
from her.  "It's like you're a million miles away."

Akane grinned a little sheepishly.  "Gomen nasai, Shinobu.  I guess I
haven't been very good company tonight."

Miyake Shinobu was very pretty - she had dark hair a little longer
than Akane's own, and a delicate grace - at least until she got angry.
Like Akane, she spent a lot of time angry.  She was a student at
Tomobiki High, a school not too far from Furinkan.  Akane could not
remember exactly where they had met, but they had become good
friends.

The red head sitting next to her spoke up.  "It's probably Ranma
again," she said.  "I know that look."

Magami Eiko was new to Nerima - she had transferred to Tomobiki
from Graviton High last year, and it had been hard for her to make
new friends.  But she and Shinobu had hit it off, and Shinobu had
introduced her to Akane.  The three of them were now quite close.

Shinobu nodded.  "Hai, Eiko-chan.  I do believe you're right."  She
turned back to Akane.  "Well?"

Akane looked down at the table, and fiddled with her cup of rapidly
cooling cocoa.  When she finally found her voice, it was quiet, but
intense.  "I think..." she began, "I think maybe that I've chased him
off for good this time."

Eiko blinked.  "Chased him off?  I thought that he lived at your
house, with his father.  Where would he go?"

"I don't know where he went.  He's just gone."

Shinobu looked shocked.  "Gone?  What happened?"

Akane sighed.  "Actually, for once, I think it was my fault."

"Your fault?" her friends asked in unison.

Akane nodded miserably.  "The day before I went on that class trip
we had another fight."

"So what,"  said Eiko.  "You two fight like cats and dogs all the time.
What makes you believe this one was any different?"

"I'm not really sure.  At the time it seemed like any other fight, but
looking back on it, there was something odd about it.  I just can't put
my finger on it.  Anyway, I yelled at him, and he left, and that was
the last time I saw him."

"But that was over a week ago!" exclaimed Shinobu.  "You mean to
say that you haven't even seen him since then?"

"No one has."

Shinobu thought about that for a moment.  "Akane...  maybe this is
none of my business, but...  isn't this what you wanted?  You've
always said that you didn't want to marry him.  I mean if he's gone
then you won't have to."

Akane fidgeted with her cup a bit more before answering.  "You
know, if you had asked me that before he left...  I might have said
yes.  Now... now I'm not so sure."

"I thought so," Eiko piped up.  "You really *do* like him, don't you?"

Akane blushed and made a show of studying the table top.  "Like
him or not, this isn't the way I wanted things to go."

Shinobu nodded sympathetically.  "C'mon," she said.  "Let's go get
something -special- to eat.  We'll all feel better."

"Right on!"  said Eiko.  She grabbed Akane and the three filed out of
the kissaten.  "Where do you want to go?"

Neither Akane nor Shinobu seemed to have an answer for that, so
they picked a direction and started walking.  After a moment, Eiko
had an idea.

"I know!  Why don't we go to that Okonomiyaki place over near
Furinkan?  They have really great food!"

Akane started to say something, but Shinobu beat her to it.  "No, we
can't go there..."

Akane breathed a sigh of relief.  She really didn't feel up to facing
Ukyou right now.

"...The place closed about a week ago," Shinobu continued.  "Ataru has
been griping about it ever since."

Akane stopped dead in her tracks.  The sudden tightness in her chest
was making it very difficult to breathe.  Shinobu and Eiko turned
back to see why she had stopped, and noticed her expression.

"Akane!" cried Shinobu.  "What's wrong?!"

Akane fought for control of her voice.  "The Ucchan...  the Ucchan is
gone?!"  she managed to gasp.

Shinobu looked puzzled.  "Hai.  It closed up about a week ago.  No one
seems to know why.  Even the signs are gone..."

If Shinobu had anything more to say, Akane didn't hear it.  A roaring
filled her ears, and the tightness in her chest spread to her stomach,
making her regret the cocoa she had just drunk.  She wavered for a
moment and blackness overwhelmed her.  She pitched forward into
the snow.

####  ****  ####

When Akane woke up, it was dark and quiet and warm.  She was
lying on something soft, and covered with a thick blanket.  She could
feel a cool dampness over her eyes.  She moaned softly.

"Akane!"  said a voice.  "You're awake."

The voice was one Akane knew well.  "Kasumi?" she managed.  She
took a deep breath but it threatened to come out as a sob as her last
memories came flooding back.  Gentle hands changed the damp cloth
on her forehead.

"Oh, Kasumi...  He's gone.  He's really gone, and he's not coming back."
Akane tried not to cry, but the tears just wouldn't stop coming.

"Your friends told me about the Ucchan when they brought you
home,"  Kasumi said at last.

"I had forgotten about Ukyou..." said Akane tearfully.  "I was just so
glad that he wasn't with Shampoo... I never stopped to consider
Ukyou..."

"You don't know for sure that Ranma and the Ucchan are connected."
said Kasumi gently.

"Don't I?"  Akane sniffed.  "You know better than that, Onee-chan.
How could they *not* be connected?"

Kasumi reached out to comfort her sister, but there was really
nothing that she could say.  Akane was right; the chances that the
disappearance of the Ucchan was not related to Ranma's were so slim
as to be non-existent.  "I'm... I'm sorry, Akane."

Kasumi sat quietly as her youngest sister cried herself to sleep.
Eventually, Akane's tears stopped, and her breathing became deep
and even.  Kasumi watched over her for a long time before getting up
and heading back downstairs.

####  ****  ####

When Akane woke up the next morning, it was almost nine o'clock.
She felt a lot better for a few minutes until the events of the past
evening once more replayed in her memory.

So Ranma had run away with Ukyou.  Why on Earth would he have
done that?  As soon as she asked herself the question, she had the
answer - Ukyou loved him.  Ukyou wanted him, and had made no
secret of it.  Ukyou was his best and oldest friend.  The question
really was, why hadn't he run away with her before?  What had kept
him here at the dojo for so long?

For a time, Akane toyed with the idea that it had been Genma that
had kept him there, but that theory didn't really hold water.  Ranma
had no particular reason to respect his father or his wishes.  While
she was sure that Ranma loved his father, she didn't think that he
liked him much.

More images from the past drifted across her mind's eye.

She remembered the first time she had met Ranma.  She had been so
relieved that Ranma had been a girl.  She had been certain that
would put an end to her father's silly ideas about an engagement.
And when Ranma had proved to be so much better than she was at
kenpo... the situation at school being what it was, she would not have
welcomed the thought of a boy being able to defeat her.

But Ranma *had* been a boy - It had all seemed like some terribly
cruel joke at the time.  Who would have believed in a curse that
could turn a boy into a girl with just a splash of cold water?  And to
make matters worse, her father had still been intent on the
engagement!  It had been a less than ideal start for what could only
kindly be called a turbulent relationship.

It had been doomed from the start.  Neither she nor Ranma had been
happy about having someone else choose the person that they would
marry, and they had tended to take out their frustrations on each
other.  Neither had been willing, at the time, to so blatantly violate
their fathers' wishes and tell them to get stuffed, and so an uneasy
half-truce had developed.  There were numerous border skirmishes
but it always stopped short of outright war.

When news of their engagement reached school, things had gotten
really complicated.  It had been very hard on her, having to act like
she was engaged to Ranma when all she really wanted was to be left
alone.

She was beginning to see that it had been hard for Ranma too.  In the
past, it had always been convenient to blame him for her troubles,
when it was really their fathers who were at fault.  As bad as it had
sometimes gotten for her, she realized now that it must have been
even worse for Ranma.

Take Kunou Tatewaki for example.  Kunou-sempai had developed an
instant dislike for the boy Ranma because he saw him as a threat in
his quest for Akane's affections, and later, ironically, the affections of
Ranma's girl half.  Then when Tatewaki's sister Kodachi had entered
the picture it had become symmetrical.  She hated the girl Ranma,
since she was obviously trying to take her Ranma-sama away from
her.  No wonder Ranma had gone a little crazy.

When Shampoo had first appeared on the scene, she had been trying
to kill the girl Ranma.  When she had attacked Akane for hiding
Ranma-chan, Ranma - as a boy this time - had thumped her again,
and let himself in for a whole heap of trouble.  By the laws of her
tribe, Shampoo had to kill Ranma's girl half, but had to marry his boy
half.

Akane was ashamed to remember how she had tormented Ranma
with observations about how cute Shampoo had been.  And when
Shampoo had taken it into her head to marry Ranma, she had been
furious.  Her own reaction had surprised her.  She didn't want Ranma
in the first place, so why should she have cared?  It had all been so
confusing!  It still made her head hurt.

Still, despite his bluster, whenever Akane had been threatened, it
had been Ranma that had come to her defence, often over her own
objections.  But he had never let her down.

She remembered the martial arts ice skating competition in
particular.  Ranma had told Sanzenin Mikado that she was *his*
fiancee - in front of a packed auditorium.  Had he meant it?  She
hadn't thought so at the time.  Then he had refused to let go of her
during the golden pair's infamous couple cleaver maneuver.  That
had cost him - and she had rewarded him by calling him a fool.

Looking back on all of it, Akane was forced to the conclusion that all
of his claims to the contrary aside, deep down, Ranma had really
cared for her.  He had just never been able to show it.  He had stayed
for her, and she had driven him away.

Akane shook her head at the memories.  Ukyou had won a long time
ago; she had just never known it.  After all, it had been Ukyou that
Ranma could talk to.  It had been Ukyou that Ranma confided in,
Ukyou that Ranma had trusted.  Ranma had never shared things with
Akane that way - partly because he could not bring himself to do it,
but mostly, Akane was afraid, because she had never given him the
chance.  She had ruined it the very first time she had seen him as a
boy.

Both had been put on the defensive, and neither of them had been
willing to be the first to let their shields down and let the other one
in.  There had been times when they had come close, so painfully
close; but in the end, the shields had stayed up.  <And now he thinks
that I hate him> she thought to herself.  <Of course he's with Ukyou.
I'd have done the same a long time ago if I'd been in his shoes.>

<Who cares?> thought Akane to herself.  <Shinobu's right.  I've always
said that I didn't want to marry him, and now I don't have to.  So
why do I feel so empty inside?  Dammit Ranma, couldn't you at least
have said 'good-bye'?>

Akane got slowly to her feet.  She wasn't kidding anyone, and she
knew it.  She cared.  Who was at fault was no longer important -
there was plenty of blame to go around.  What mattered now was
that a part of her life was gone, and would likely never come back.
It was probably beyond recovery, but she had to know for sure.  She
*had* to know how things might have been different, if only she had
been willing to listen on that last night.  The hole in her heart was
never going to heal until she had at least told him that she was sorry,
and that she didn't hate him.  She needed closure.

It was time that she had a talk with her father.

####  ****  ####

Soun and Genma were playing shogi when Akane found them.
Genma was in his panda form, his fur somewhat matted.  Her father
looked like he hadn't slept very well.  Neither really appeared to be
very interested in the game.

"Otou-san - can I talk to you?"

"Akane!  Don't worry, daughter.  Ranma will be back.  You'll see.
Right, Saotome?"

{Growf}

"No dad, I don't think so."

"You must have faith!"

"Dad, you don't understand.  The night before I left on that class trip,
Ranma and I had a fight...  a bad one."

"It's just a stage you're going through.  It will pass."

Akane was getting frustrated.  "Will you listen to me?  He thinks that
I hate him!  I've driven him off!  He's gone!  He WON'T be coming
back.  Right now, he's Kami knows where with Ukyou..."

"Akane!"

Akane sat down heavily.  A cup of hot tea materialized on the table
next to her, as if by magic.  She smiled gratefully at Kasumi who was
already headed back into the kitchen.  She took a sip of the tea and a
deep breath before trying once more to explain things to her father.

"Don't you see?  I'd gotten so used to his constant teasing that I
wouldn't listen to him when he was trying to be serious.  After that
last iinazuke showed up,"  she paused to glare at Genma, "I was too
upset to think straight...  I was afraid that he was just going to be
mean."

Akane stared into the depths of her teacup.  "It must have been the
fight with that Daitokuji girl..." she continued.  "I've never seen him
so angry."

Soun remembered well just how angry Ranma had been.  He nodded
sympathetically.  The panda winced.

"Whatever it was he wanted to say that night must have been
awfully important to him... so important that even after I yelled at
him, he didn't so much as call me kawaikunee."  Akane was close to
tears again.  "I think...  I think he was trying to apologize, but I shut
him out before he could get a word in.  Now he's gone, and it's too
late."

Akane smiled bitterly.  "How many times, I wonder.  How many
times did I tell him that I hated him?  I lost count a long time ago.
You want to know something funny?  No matter how many times I
did say that, he never once said that he hated me.  He said that he
hated tomboys often enough, but he never made it personal."

A heavy silence descended on the room as Akane finished speaking.

Soun longed to be able to comfort his daughter, but he had no idea
what to say.  After a time, Akane spoke again.  Her voice was quiet,
but it carried the steel edge of determination.

"I'm going after him." she said simply.

For a long moment, Soun could think of nothing to say.  His dreams,
and those of his lifelong friend seemed to be in shambles, but here,
now, was a new spark of hope.  He grabbed for it in true Tendou
fashion; that is to say like a drowning man grabs for the swimmer
nearest him.

"That's the spirit, Akane!  You're not beaten yet!  You can bring him
home again and everything will be all right!"

Akane looked sadly at her father.  "Maybe.  I think it's probably too
late for that, but...  there are things that I have to know.  Questions
that only he can answer - if he will."  She got slowly to her feet.  "I'm
going to go get packed.  I'll leave as soon as I can get a lead on where
they might have gone."

"How long, daughter?  How long will you follow him?" asked Soun.

"As long as it takes."  Akane replied heavily.  She turned to face her
father once more.  "Ukyou followed him for ten years.  Ten years!
Can I do less?"

Soun watched his daughter walk out of the room with mixed feelings.
His little baby was leaving the nest - he was so proud of her, but it
was almost more than he could bear to think about.  It was going to
be different without Akane in the house - as different as it had been
when Akane's mother had died.  Soun could, of course, forbid her to
go.  She might even obey him, but he didn't think so.  She certainly
wouldn't thank him for it.

"What have we done to them, old friend?  What have we done?"

The panda had no answer.

####  ****  ####

TO BE CONTINUED...

####  ****  ####

END OF EPISODE ONE

####  ****  ####

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading!
Please send comments, criticisms, and large dilithium crystals to:

Ayanami@mindspring.com

or Snailmail
c/o Anime*Niacs
PO Box 158392
Nashville, TN 37215

This is not exactly a sequel to "Between a Rock and a Hard Place", but
it can be assumed to take place in the same universe.  Again, Zen
expects to be charged with an unreasonable Pro-Ukyou bias.  All Zen
can say in his own defence is that he warned you.  ^_^  Zen hopes that
you will/did enjoy the story anyway.

Obviously, this was meant to be the start of a series... Zen has no idea
how long it will run, but a number of events and sub stories have
been mapped out - At least some of them will actually get written!
^_^

There are a few fics in the pipe ahead of it, though... After listening
to many people (hi, Kun-chan) tell Zen that the only true way is for
Ranma and Akane, Zen has listened, and written an Akane Gets
Ranma fic.  Be careful what you ask for.

Zen would like to thank the people that expressed a willingness to
pre-read this turkey to see that it was reasonably well done before
being served.  Richard Lawson, Sebastian Weinberg, Venkarel, Mike
Loader, Cyne/Onnawulf (Mike Noakes), Nicholas Leifker, and James
"Phoenix" Jones.  Zen greatly appreciates their tremendous sacrifices
towards this endeavour.  (Zen is assured that Lawson-san will be out
of the CICU any week now...)

As ever, Zen recommends that you check out their stories...  They still
write way better than Zen does.

Doumo Arigato Gozaimashita!

Zen the Heretic-
October - 1996