Cinders 1
Cinders
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by June "KaraOhki" Geraci
August 23, 1999
Revised
Ranma 1/2 and its universe was created by Rumiko Takahashi, and belongs to her. This work of fiction was written for entertainment only, and is not intended for commercial purposes.
Cinders
Chapter 1
Ranma and Akane knelt on the floor in Akane's room, facing one another. Ranma wore a white tuxedo, and a stunned expression. What Akane had just told him had hit him harder than one of her punches could.
"Your father has WHAT?"
"Water from the Spring of Drowned Man. He said there was just enough for one person--you."
Akane had the satisfaction of seeing Ranma's face go from stunned to ecstatic. Then he jumped up and ran from the room, barely pausing long enough to reply.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Akane couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused, although annoyance predominated. If Ranma was going to be cured, she had to see it. There was no way she was going to miss something that important to her.
"Hey, wait for me! I want to watch you use it!"
Ranma heard Akane and slowed down to allow her to catch up. The pair ran part way downstairs, but before they could go further they were confronted by Ukyo and Shampoo, who threw something at them.
The couple�s reaction was predictable.
"Akane! Get down!"
"Ranma! Look out!"
The two of them crashed into each other just as the bombs reached them, leaving both unprotected.
More amused than annoyed, the pair joined forces to beat out the flames coming from Ranma�s tuxedo vest.
�Klutz.�
�Baka.�
Unnoticed by either, a random spark struck the crepe paper wedding bells hanging over the stairs. They began to smolder.
Ranma looked down at what was left of his vest, and laughed even harder.
"The rental people are going to hate me!"
Then he noticed Akane looking at her hands.
"Are you hurt?"
"I burned myself a little."
Ranma grabbed Akane's wrists. The palms of her hands were red.
"It's not too bad. Let's get you some cold water."
Ranma started down the steps again, Akane a step or two behind him.
"Look out!"
The shout was from Nabiki, who was pointing above them. Ranma looked behind him just as the supports for the decorations gave way and the bells fell, shattering into a myriad of tiny pieces of flame. The pieces fell like rain around Akane, landing on her gown, her veil, and her head. She and Ranma were so busy trying to bat them away that they didn't see when the wire framework, white hot from the fire, landed on her train and set it ablaze.
Ranma grabbed Akane, but she panicked, tore herself away from him and started to run. He caught her again, hugged her against him, and burst through the wall into the nearest source of cold water--the pond.
Ranma disappeared beneath the surface of the water with Akane in his arms. When Ranma surfaced again Akane was limp, and her eyes were closed. A crowd gathered around them as Ranma sat on the ground with Akane in her arms.
"Akane! Please, Akane, wake up!"
Ranma was vaguely aware of someone running to call an ambulance and many people crowding around them asking questions, but all she could do was look at Akane and beg her to open her eyes. This was too much like the scene in Jusendo. Some people in the crowd took one glance at Akane and turned away in shock. Her veil was in black tatters, as was her dress. Akane�s eyebrows and eyelashes were gone, along with much of her hair. She had pinkish-red burns everywhere Ranma could see, and they were already beginning to blister. Ranma was aware that she was also burned--very painfully so--on her hands, face and arms, and where she had hugged Akane against herself, but she was too worried about her fiancee to give it any consideration.
Kasumi and Nabiki were the first of the family to reach Ranma and Akane, pushing through the wedding guests to get to them. Nabiki stopped short, sank to the ground and appeared to go into shock. Kasumi knelt down and felt for Akane's pulse. She continued to hold her sister�s hand, and tried to smile at Ranma.
"She's alive, Ranma."
Ranma was so relieved that she nearly began to cry, but her expression changed when Soun and Genma appeared.
"Where the hell were you?"
It wasn�t until after she�d asked the question that Ranma noticed that both her father and Akane�s looked rather singed themselves. Soun immediately sank to his knees at Ranma�s side, and wept over his daughter. Genma also got down next to them, trying not to look at Akane.
�Trying to get your water away from Happosai. I�m sorry, Son. He drank it.�
�That�s not important right now. Where the hell is the ambulance?�
�I�ll try to find out, Son.�
Genma ran back to the house, followed by Kasumi. Nabiki and Soun remained with Ranma and Akane. Soun continued to cry, and Nabiki still sat there, pale and quiet, as she watched Ranma beg Akane to wake up. After a minute she looked down, and began to talk.
�Ranma, this is my fault. If I hadn�t invited them---�
Nabiki was unable to finish her statement before bursting into tears.
�I--I�m so sorry! I�ll make it up to the two of you, I promise!�
Then she was gone, running back to the house faster than Ranma had ever seen her move before. As she ran inside, Kasumi and Genma returned. Kasumi was carrying a kettle.
�They said the ambulance should be here any second, Ranma. I thought you�d want to change before you went to the hospital.�
�I don�t really care, Kasumi, but thank you.�
Akane opened her eyes and looked at the faces around her. She looked from Ranma�s face to her father�s and Kasumi�s. When she looked back at Ranma again her face crumpled, and she began to cry.
For a second Ranma looked panic-stricken. Then she calmed herself and began murmuring inarticulate soothing noises to Akane. The sobbing stopped. In the distance, they could hear the sirens.
Ranma handed Akane into Soun�s arms, and took the kettle from Kasumi. Akane protested, reaching back towards Ranma.
�No!�
�Just a second, Akane.�
Ranma poured the kettle over herself, and cried out in pain. Hot water was not the best thing to pour over burns.
Akane had grown quiet in her father�s arms. Ranma knelt beside her, extremely concerned, as the paramedics rushed into the yard, pushing a stretcher. They gently lifted Akane onto it and wheeled her off. Ranma walked beside her.
The priest who was to have married them rushed up and accompanied them to the ambulance. He got aboard with them, and said a prayer over Akane as they were locking down the stretcher. The priest then tried to leave, but Ranma stopped him when he saw the look in Akane�s eyes.
[She's scared.]
"Please. Stay."
The priest climbed into the front seat, the doors closed, and the ambulance pulled away from the Tendo home.
*****
The paramedics were already peeling the soggy ash that had once been silk sleeves from Akane's arms when Ranma got in. The intravenous drip was started before the house was out of sight. Akane appeared dazed, but her eyes followed Ranma as he took a seat as close to her as possible. She seemed to be having difficulty breathing, and Ranma became concerned.
"What's wrong? Why is she breathing like that?"
The answer was revealed when what remained of the front of Akane's dress was removed, to reveal burned areas across her abdomen and chest.
"It probably hurts her to breathe. Is that right, Miss?"
Akane nodded, and closed her eyes. Ranma began to panic. Was he losing her?
"Stay awake, Akane! Stay with me!"
Ranma began to feel terribly guilty about what he�d said to Akane before. She had tried to get him to admit his feelings, and he�d backed away again. If it wasn�t too late, he was going to do something about it. He reached over to the front seat and tapped the priest�s shoulder.
"Marry us. Now."
Akane's eyes flew open.
"Ranma? You mean it?"
"Yes."
Akane lifted a blistered palm to Ranma's cheek. She wanted desperately to be his wife, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"Hurry," she whispered.
*****
They hurried. Akane's breathing was getting shallower, and Ranma wasn�t much better. He'd refused to allow the paramedics to touch him, telling them to concentrate on Akane, but one of them started working on his hands as he was reciting his vows. The other monitored Akane, looking more worried by the second, even though he tried his best to hide it.
The priest had never performed a wedding faster in his career.
Ranma leaned over Akane. "I love you, Akane," he whispered, and kissed her as gently as he could. Then he smiled at her whispered response.
"I love you, Ranma."
Hands pulled at Ranma. He tried to resist them, but was in no condition to do so.
"I'm sorry, but you need to get out of the way."
"What? Why?"
Akane looked fearfully at the paramedic as he unwrapped something sealed in plastic. She couldn't see it clearly and had no idea what it was, but it still scared her. She looked even more frightened when his partner held her down.
"Try to relax."
Akane nodded, and closed her eyes.
Ranma exercised every bit of self-control as he watched the paramedics intubate Akane. He wanted to tear his eyes away in order to avoid the pain of seeing what she was going through, but he couldn't. Soon Akane wasn't breathing for herself, but instead it was being done for her.
Akane opened her eyes. Holding still had been the hardest thing she had ever done. Ranma was looking at her, paler than she'd ever seen him. They couldn�t reach out to touch each other, but their eyes locked.
Akane continued to look at Ranma until her stare became a blank one, and the paramedic closed her eyes. Ranma shuddered. He suddenly felt extremely faint.
"Promise me we'll be kept together."
"I can't promise you, but I'll try."
When the ambulance reached the hospital, the priest blessed both of them before he made his way home. He completely forgot to notify their families of the service he had just performed for them.
*****
"He's coming around."
"Already? He should still be asleep."
The nurse leaning over Ranma shrugged her shoulders.
"Tell him that."
Ranma looked around. He was on a gurney, surrounded by curtains. Both of his hands were bandaged, as well as his arms and chest. An IV line inserted into his arm fed a clear fluid into him. He moved his arms experimentally, and felt very little pain. They must have given him something when he was out.
"Where is Akane?"
"They're cleaning her up."
"Where is Akane? Is she all right?"
"Hush. She's stable. You can see her soon."
"WHERE IS AKANE?"
The nurse smiled. Ranma vaguely remembered her from previous trips to the emergency room. She�d always been very kind to him.
"I TOLD them not to separate you." She pushed aside the curtain to Ranma's right. He couldn't see much of Akane through the crowd caring for her, but the pounding in his chest settled down.
Ranma sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the gurney, grabbed the IV pole, and got as close to her as he could. Then he stopped, blushing profusely.
Akane was naked. Somehow, seeing her naked here was more upsetting than it had been in the ambulance. Ranma averted his gaze and settled it on Akane's face, but not before he could avoid seeing more of her injuries than he could handle. They frightened him to such a degree that he felt a wave of extreme weakness and sagged against the gurney. Seconds later he was aware of a chair being pushed beneath him, and he heard the nurse�s voice again.
"Sit. We don't need to be picking you off the floor."
Ranma nodded, unable to speak. Akane's bandaged hand was close to him and he touched her fingertips with his own, afraid to try holding it. He sat quietly, concentrating on Akane's face, trying hard to block out what was being done to her, although his peripheral vision picked up more than he liked. He was very relieved when they finished and covered her. Shortly afterwards, a gentle touch on his shoulder made him look up to see the nurse who had been with him when he'd awakened.
"We're ready to take the two of you upstairs. I'll get you a wheelchair."
"I can walk."
The nurse couldn't help but laugh.
"Ranma, you get more stubborn every time I see you. You�re full of pain medication, and you can barely sit up, let alone walk. You're riding."
He rode.
*****
Evidently Ranma's request to the paramedics had been passed on to the hospital, because he and Akane were taken to the same room.
He sat on the edge of the bed watching them get her settled. When they tied Akane's hands and feet to the bed frame, Ranma became upset.
"What are you doing that for?"
"Sometimes people thrash around when they're unconscious. She might hurt herself. Right now she's on a lot of medication for pain, so she may sleep most of the time."
As soon as the room emptied Ranma got up and went to Akane's side, dragging his IV pole with him.
Ranma moved close to the bed and bumped into something. He looked down and saw a bag hanging from the bed. Yellow liquid dripped into it through a tube, and Ranma winced as he realized where the other end must be attached. He hesitated, then gingerly put his hands on the sheet covering Akane.
[What the heck am I doing?] he asked himself. The answer came readily: [She's my wife. I have to know what we're up against.]
He brought the sheet down, gulped, and covered her again, tears rolling down his cheeks. The beautiful body he'd seen last at Jusendo must be a mess, because there were bandages everywhere, and what wasn�t bandaged was smeared in some sort of ointment. He didn't know enough about burns to guess how bad they were, but what he could see looked awful.
"I'm sorry, Akane. I should have been faster."
Ranma brushed at his tears with his bandaged hands. When he looked down again, Akane's eyes were open and she was struggling against her restraints, but she didn't seem to see him.
"I'm here, Akane."
*****
She'd dreamed about fire. It was all around her: eating at her clothing, her skin, her hair.
"Ranma! Help me!"
She woke in a panic, struggling to move.
"I'm here, Akane."
Those words were enough to calm her. Akane turned her face to Ranma, questions in her eyes. Ranma thought that she was on the edge of panicking again as she looked at him, then at the restraints on her hands.
"I'm sorry, Akane. They said it was to keep you from hurting yourself."
Ranma leaned over and kissed Akane's cheek. He was bright red when he straightened up. Kissing Akane was something he was going to have to get used to, yet the compulsion had been impossible to resist. He needed to be near her, and he hoped that she felt the same need.
Ranma pulled a chair close to the bed, and rested his hand on Akane�s. The room was silent, broken only by the sound of the respirator.
"I'm not used to being the one who has to do all the talking."
Akane nodded. Ranma smiled. His smile faded when Akane closed her eyes, and sweat drops appeared on her brow. She opened her eyes again moments later, and he could see that they were filled with tears.
"What's the matter?"
[She can't answer, you dummy! Think of something!]
"Akane, listen to me. Blink to answer. One for yes, two for no. Do you understand?"
Blink. [Now if you can ask the right questions, we�ll be okay.]
"Why are you crying? Damn. You can't answer that with a yes or no. Are you crying because you hurt?"
Blink blink.
"Okay, then it's something else."
Ranma wrinkled his brow in thought. It bothered him to ask the next question, but he had to ask it.
"Are you scared?"
Blink.
Ranma paused, an uncertain look on his face.
"You remember, don't you? What happened in the ambulance?"
Akane blinked, and Ranma could swear that she was trying to smile around the tube in her mouth. [How could I forget? I wish I could talk to you.]
"Good. Then don't be scared, �cause I'm going to stay with you. Nobody is going to ever hurt you again. Never."
Akane's eyelids were beginning to droop, but she managed to blink once before going back to sleep. Ranma gently wiped the tears from her face and continued to sit beside her, watching her sleep.
Fifteen minutes later their nurse came in to check on them, and found Ranma sound asleep, his head resting on Akane�s bed.