I'm going to try sending it as an attachment this time. Let me know if there
are any problems (off the list)
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: 00.txt
Saffron^�s defeat had left time for things to calm down before the inevitable return to Nerima. The hope of a cure at Jusenkyo was lost to all the cursed parties.
Nabiki was making arrangements for their return, talking to Ranma by phone in a small town near the outskirts of the Biankala range.^�... So you have a few days to get to the boat. I thought you might want to make the most of your time and get cured.^�
^�Weren^�t you listening, Nabiki? Jusenkyo was destroyed!^�
^�I^�m not thinking about Jusenkyo, Ranma. Go to the Musk.^�
^�The Musk?! Are you out of your mind!?^� One hand held the phone glued to his ear while the other gesticulated wildly. As Nabiki outlined her idea, the free arm settled and a smile grew on his face. ^�Genius, Nabiki, as always... See you soon.^�
The others were gathered around him, his father, Ryoga, Mousse, Shampoo, and... Akane... They all looked expectantly at Ranma. ^�All right, here^�s what we^�re gonna do...^�
Getting into the fortress of the Musk was easier than anyone had anticipated. With only the three members of the Musk remaining, it was simple for Ranma and Ryoga to enter undetected.
Lime and Mint were patrolling the outer wall, but the two young men failed to notice the shadows that slipped through the hole in their pattern. Within the great empty fortress there was only one occupant. Herb.
They found him in his ^�Throne Room.^� apparently going over papers. There would never be a better time.
Herb looked up in surprise as the doors to his Throne room were knocked off their hinges. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the flying redhead, and her sandal covered foot.
Getting out was every bit as easy as getting in.
The small group was gathered around their campfire, the next morning. They had made good time getting away from the Musk and tomorrow morning they would leave on the boat to Japan. A pot of water was suspended over the fire until it steamed and bubbled a bit.
Ranma held the Chuisuiton in his hands. Amazing how something so ordinary looking could cause so much trouble. You wouldn^�t think to look at it that it was anything other than a ladle.
He looked around himself, at his friends and his family. ^�Let me go first, if this doesn^�t work at least I^�ll still be able to talk.^� Ryoga looked like he might object at first but then calmed down.
For a brief moment Ranma and Akane^�s eyes met. There was something that passed between them at that moment, not as powerful as the moment she had opened her eyes after Saffron, but it spoke to each of them of the enduring nature of that emotion.
Tears filled Akane^�s eyes as he dipped the ladle and poured the contents over his head. ^�OUCH!^� came his strong voice. No change. Then he dipped his own cup into the bucket of cold water, pouring it over his head. ^�Brr!^� came his strong voice. No change.
^�It worked! HA!^� Ranma cartwheeled around the campsite. He flipped into the air, landing near his love. ^�Akane, I...^�
^�Ahem!^� came a voice that chilled his blood.
Turning, Ranma saw the Lord of the Musk, standing just inside the camp. They had all been so intent on the fire and the ladle that they hadn^�t noticed his approach.
^�All I want is my property, Ranma. I have no wish to fight the man who destroyed Saffron.^� Mint and Lime stepped out at other angles, surrounding the camp. ^�But I will fight it I must.^�
^�Herb!^� Ranma called excitedly. He was before the young man in an instant. ^�We came up with a cure for Jusenkyo! Hot water and the Chuisuiton!^�
^�A... cure?^� He looked somewhere between impressed and amused. ^�Of course. How foolish of me.^� He looked past Ranma at his party. ^�If I allow your... cure, will you return to me the Chuisuiton?^�
^�Sure, got no use for it after that. I was gonna mail it back to you tomorrow anyway.^�
A hint of a smile passed over Herbs face. He quickly spoke up, ^�I can always count on you to try to do the right thing, can^�t I, Ranma?^�
Genma and Ryoga took advantage of the Chuisuiton^�s power, but Shampoo and Mousse declined. ^�Cat body is Shampoo punishment from village. No can take away with honor.^�
^�I will not leave you to suffer alone, Shampoo!^� Mousse cried with tears in his eyes as he hugged one of the Musk warriors.
Twenty years passed in Nerima. Akane and Ranma were married and lived lives full of danger and adventure. Ryoga settled down with Akari and was seen less and less as the years passed by.
Once the marriage was settled, Cologne and the Amazons stopped their chases and for many years remained a part the lives of the Nerima crew. Eventually, they decided that their place was home, in China and they departed.
Ukyo stayed the whole time. She held a bitterness in her that gradually turned to hate. Ten years after Saffron and the unification of the Saotome and Tendo clans, she attacked Akane. The battle lasted for nearly a day, ending in a draw as neither woman could conclusively beat the other.
For Ukyo, it was therapeutic. She settled her differences and renewed her friendship with Ranma and Akane.
Nabiki never married and eventually went to college, getting a business degree. She turned her attentions back towards her family after that, bringing new moneymaking ideas to Nerima.
Kasumi eventually followed after Tofu, the two found each other and lived on the far side of Japan from the family. There frequent visits, along with their son, Soun, brought both joy and pain into Ranma and Akane^�s lives.
Though they had tried, Ranma and Akane seemed doomed not to have children. Genma and Nodoka, Soun as well, had pressured them for a time, but eventually they stopped when the disappointment and pain to the couple became too much.
Of course there was excitement enough to turn them away from brooding. Together, they went on to fight old gods; new gods; old enemies, such as Taro, Happosai- who seemed to have more energy and stamina the older he got and all new enemies. Akane seemed a magnet for lost princes and lonely warlords.
Twenty years passed.
The bedroom was hot. He was sweating under the thick blankets. Breathing had become raspy. His lungs were thick and heavy. Still he had that cocky smile on his pale face. ^�Don^�t worry, Akane, I^�ll be up and about in no time. A little thing like pnu-^� he cut himself off with a series of lung scraping coughs that dislodged a small amount of phlegm. ^�This won^�t keep me down.^� What little strength he had seemed to be leaking out of him rapidly.
Akane was at his side as the last rattles of breath left his weakened body. She sat there, by his side, crying for a time.
A short time later, the ambulance arrived. It seemed kind of ironic, to Nabiki that they sent an ambulance to pick up the body. The medical teams were there to save lives, but here and now they were too late and they knew it. The men solemnly followed Tofu up to the body.
She couldn^�t make her mind wrap around the idea that it was Ranma. That he was.... Ranma always got out of everything. Since they were children, nothing could touch him in a lasting way. Not even Jusenkyo.
Noone had thought anything of it at first, just a cough. It progressed rapidly into something worse. He was only sick a couple of days. Did people die from pneumonia in just a couple of days?
He had been tired from the fight. He was then single-handedly able to destroy the tidal wave from within, using the Hiryou Shouten Ha. He admitted that he^�d swallowed some water but seemed okay.
Akane was crying into Kasumi^�s shoulder, still unable to speak after watching her husband fade so rapidly. Soun had gone to get the Saotomes and bring them here. Ukyo looked stricken. Her face was a blank mask.
Tofu and the EMT^�s came back down the stairs. Tofu had a smile plastered on his face that only his wife could have seen through. The EMT^�s weren^�t smiling. ^�You do realize we could press charges. Misuse of the Emergency Response System is a crime.^�
^�I do apologize again. We can^�t begin to tell you how sorry the family is,^� Tofu was saying. The couple and their son had been on their way back when they heard about the attack by the ^�Son of a Hundred Spirits.^� They had only arrived a few minutes after Ranma^�s passing. Getting into and out of Nerima was difficult right now because of the property damage caused by the fight.
^�Its only because he lives here that I^�m willing to let this slide.^�
^�I understand, sir.^� Tofu continued placating them even as he ushered them out the door.
As soon as he returned to the family, Akane asked, ^�Why didn^�t they take Ran- why didn^�t they take him?^�
Tofu ran his hand over his mouth, as though massaging it for a moment. ^�Come with me, all of you.^� He turned without another word and walked up the stairs to the master bedroom.
Lying on the bed, breathing softly, was a sixteen year old red headed girl.
^�Oh, my!^�