Akane
by Kirinin
Five
Akane shook her head as Nabiki railed at her. "I had to let him carry you, Nabiki, you wouldn't wake up!" Nabiki's lips thinned. "You should have tried harder. Half the town has probably seen him carrying me down the road!" Akane snorted. "So what? What do you care?" "I thought you wouldn't have asked a guy to do anything," Nabiki hissed at her. "I was still wiped out," Akane protested. "I don't do ki attacks every day, you know. Not like some people." Nabiki's eyes flashed. "Like who?" "Like Ryoga, of course," Akane declared, clicking her tongue in irritation. "I don't know why it matters to you so much, anyway." Nabiki shrugged casually. "Maybe I don't like Kuno very well." "Who actually does? But he's useful once in awhile," Akane bit off. Nabiki frowned silently for a moment. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that. It really spoils that whole princess bit you've got going." Akane grimaced. "It's better than being taken for a mercenary and a thief! Besides, nobody thinks I'm a princess anymore... they think I'm a freak!" Akane felt her emotions bubble up inside herself, with no release. She wanted to do a Shi Shi Hokodan but did not want to have that disquieting empty feeling afterwards. She settled for slamming her bedroom door. Akane had never felt so miserable. Kasumi, after hearing the argument between Nabiki and she, had absented herself from the premises on the pretext of necessary shopping. Soun had alternated between ignoring the two of them and bursting into tears. And Akane had wondered if she wasn't snapping at Nabiki just because of those stupid memories that wouldn't go away and yet refused to come any closer. They were giving her a terrible feeling of dread that was just out of reach, like something staring at the back of her neck all the time. It was bound to make her snap at people. Not that Nabiki hadn't deserved every word, of course. Akane cradled her stuffed pig. She wished for the umpteenth time that P- chan were with her, so she could talk to him— Hiroshi! He would listen to her. Akane dialed with shaking hands. "Hiroshi?" she exclaimed into the receiver. "No, I'm sorry, this is his mother. May I ask who's calling?" Akane gulped. "Oh, dear, I'm very sorry. I'm Tendo Akane. May I speak to your son?" "Certainly dear. Just a moment." Akane waited with bated breath. She'd never done this before, but she didn't suppose her father would object, but maybe Hiroshi would think that— "Hello?" "Hey, Hiroshi? It's Akane. Ah— how's the eye?" "Black and blue as all hell. But it doesn't really hurt unless I blink." "Listen, Hiroshi, I was wondering... can— can you come over?" There was a long pause. "Come over?" "Yes." There was yet another long pause. "Sure." "Let me give you my address." "It's alright. I already have it." "Y-you do? But— " "Don't worry. I haven't been stalking you or anything. I was friends with— uhm, a houseguest of yours. During the missing time period, you know. I've been there a bunch of times. I'll see you in ten or fifteen minutes, okay?" "Okay. Hiroshi?" "Yeah?" "Thanks for coming on such short notice and everything." "No prob. See you soon." "Bye." Akane swallowed. She had done it. She had actually invited a boy over. To sit on her bed. To... She sighed. To talk. And to listen. Akane sat downstairs in front of the television, whiling away the time until Hiroshi arrived, but she scarcely saw the picture in front of her or heard the words that the busty heroine was spouting tearfully. She didn't come truly alive again until she heard the doorbell. "I really am sorry that I called you so late and everything," Akane said to Hiroshi, stepping aside to let him in. She forced herself to slow her voice down, to calm down, to stop behaving like a hysterical girl. "It's seriously not a problem," Hiroshi assured her. "It's not like my parents were asleep yet. They really stay up till all hours." Akane felt the beginnings of a smile creep across her face. "Do they?" "Yeah, it's rare they go to bed before midnight. I think they're concerned that I'm not more of a party animal." Akane giggled. "C'mon, let's go upstairs." "Can we make some food first? I'm starving." "Boys. Always thinking of their stomachs," Akane chided him. "Girls— always trying to get you to their rooms—" Akane flushed with a mixture between anger and embarrassment. "That's not it! I just... I wanted to talk, that's all!" Her hands balled into fists. "Hey, I'm sorry," Hiroshi apologized readily. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just being stupid, trying to be funny - you know." Akane deflated. "I'm edgy lately." Hiroshi's incredulous expression said rather clearly that 'edgy' was something of an understatement, but he remained mute. For once, Akane was very glad. "We can get some food. Come on," she replied. "I'm sure that there were leftovers. Kasumi got sort of angry, bought an insane amount of food, and cooked up a storm. She tends to do that when she's upset." "Kasumi? Upset? I can't even begin to imagine what might have caused that one!" Akane blinked at him. "You know Kasumi?" "I said I'd been here a bunch of times. I remember her from then. And it's not like you don't talk about her; that's filled in the rest." Akane looked down at her feet, feeling a curious chill run through her. It was the most direct evidence she'd ever seen that a big piece of her life was missing. It felt strange. It felt like an episode of 'The Twilight Zone.' It felt... real, all of a sudden. Those were days she might never get back. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine, really," Akane demurred. "Let's raid the fridge." Armed with sandwich making items, pickles, sodas, and a bag of chips, the two teenagers climbed the stairs and entered Akane's room. "So this is it," Hiroshi murmured, glancing about Akane's room as though it were some kind of shrine. "You've... you've never been in here?" Akane queried tentatively. "Nah, mostly we hung around downstairs and outside," the boy replied carefully. "Hiro... there's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" Hiroshi paused. "I want to be honest with you, Akane. But... the last time somebody told you what happened, you had a screaming fit. At least that's what Nabiki said. At first I thought it was an angle, but she was deadly serious." Akane frowned. "But I don't remember—" She paused as a seeming flood of sounds and images nearly overwhelmed her. White. Too white. Somebody screaming. That was so loud— it was too loud. Couldn't anybody stop that stupid girl from screaming? "Doctor! Hold her down!" Pain. Arm. Quiet. Thank goodness she stopped. Now I can finally get some sleep. Akane shook her head violently. "I... okay. I guess I see why you don't really want to tell me. I guess I understand." She looked up with a determined light in her eyes. "But Hiroshi— can't you at least tell me her name? The girl who stayed with us, who... did she die?" Hiroshi took a very deep breath. "Yeah, Akane." Akane nodded to herself. It made an awful lot of sense. Perhaps she'd seen it and it'd been in some gruesome fashion. "So I saw it?" "Nobody knows," Hiroshi said. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you. You didn't remember, yourself, and you were the only witness to what happened." Akane gulped, and spoke her worst fear aloud. "What if I did it?" "That's impossible," Hiroshi told her, enough certainty in his voice to comfort her. "They ran a pretty thorough investigation, and there was none of your DNA anyplace - except where they found you. The police investigator said it looked like you walked up, saw what had happened, and fainted on the spot." Akane sighed, greatly relieved. "I mean, I don't think I could, I mean, I don't think I would, but the gap is a couple of months, right? Is that long enough for somebody to go bonkers, or what?" Hiroshi gave her a wry grin. "Somebody can go crazy all in an instant." He began fixing himself a sandwich. Akane watched his hand move from the ham to the swiss cheese as though its movements held the key to the very universe. "That's not very comforting," she replied softly. "Nope," Hiroshi agreed. "Why did I ask you to talk back, anyway?" Akane teased, doing her best to smile. "Whatever happened to 'uh huh, Akane', and 'yeah' and 'nope' and that little head-nod you do with a grunt to show you're listening?" "You asked for it, you got it," Hiroshi informed her firmly. "The whole nine yards, ne?" Akane grimaced. "Yeah." She took an especially vicious bite out of her sandwich. "So what... what was her name?" "Akane. You have to understand, hearing that name is what made you go berserk in the first place." "I'll brace myself," Akane replied tightly. "Say it." Hiroshi looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "It was Anna." Akane blinked. "Are... are you sure?" "It might have been something a lot like that. That sounded like that. I think it began with an 'R'." Akane stared at him. "You're trying to get me to say it, aren't you?" Hiroshi grinned at her nervously. "I admit that information from Nabiki is sometimes suspect, but when she says, and I quote 'To anybody who says THAT NAME in front of Akane, they will get their entrails and their eyeballs handed to them personally. In that order.’ You understand where I'm coming from?" "So we're playing a guessing game now. So it's Ranna?" "One of those n's is an m. Try again." "Ranma?" There was a long pause. Hiroshi did not nod, but Akane knew by his silence that she had guessed it. "It's alright. I'm not screaming. I'm not, okay?" Hiroshi relaxed. "Whew!" "So this girl - Ranma - lived with us for awhile? How long?" "Oh, about a year or so." Akane paused. "But I don't get it. My memories are six months gone." Hiroshi nodded. "Except stuff that involves... that person." "Ranma? You can say it, Hiro, I give you permission." "Ranma." Akane shivered. It was strange, but when somebody else said it, she felt how... bad it was. How strange. How unearthly. Almost... cursed? Did Ranma have something wrong with her? A flash of red accompanied the thought. Blood? Hair! Ranma had red hair. Ranma was a tomboy. Ranma was infuriating! Hiroshi had her by the shoulders. "Akane! Are you alright?" "Hi-Hiroshi? I'm really okay. It's fine, really... I just sort of phased out for a moment. Ranma had red hair? And she bugged me a lot of the time— but we were friends, weren't we?" Hiroshi smiled. "You two were like family. Sometimes you fought like cats and dogs, but you always made up and always stuck together. You helped each other when there was trouble, no matter what." Akane nodded; that sounded about right. "And I saw Ranma die." Hiroshi's eyes crinkled with sympathy. "I think so." He nodded and poured himself some soda, then tilted his head at Akane in a wordless query. "Sure, my throat is getting really parched from talking so much." Akane accepted the drink he handed her and sipped it slowly. "That's better," she sighed. "You know Hiroshi? We think we're so strong. I thought I was the strongest person I know. But one moment managed to knock me flat." Akane took a long sip, focusing briefly on the cool path it made down her throat. Hiroshi looked at her wordlessly before offering Akane his open hand. Tentatively, Akane placed her own palm across his. "Thank you," she said softly. "All I'm doing is sitting here," he protested, but Akane noticed a faint blush around his ears. He cleared his throat. "Is there anything else you remember about Ranma?" Akane smiled, squeezing Hiroshi's hand tightly. "I hate to keep on talking like this. Is there anything you want to tell me?" Hiroshi shrugged. "Well, there's this girl that I like. I was wondering if you could give me some advice, me being so clueless and all." Akane frowned, confused. She'd been so sure that Hiro had a crush on her. She felt her face fall. Somehow, even though she didn't want anything from him, it had still been nice to be liked. "A memory?" Akane looked up at him startled. He must have seen my expression. "Oh— no, its nothing. Is it Sayuri? I noticed you've been talking to her more lately." Hiroshi nodded. "Do you like her a lot?" Hitoshi presented her a relieved smile. "I was afraid you wouldn't understand. I mean, normally I'd talk this over with Dai, but ever since he moved I've had nobody to talk to about girls. I hope you don't mind." Akane snorted. "Of course I don't. So what's the question?" Akane presented him with her listening face, vaguely aware Hiroshi had removed his hand from hers. "I've known her forever, and I was just wondering how to bring up the idea of something more than friendship." Hiroshi scratched the back of his head nervously. Akane paused to consider this, pushing her emotions on the matter aside, determined to give good advice. "Do some nice things for her, take her out to eat, or to a movie. Then, at the end, give her a romantic gift— I don't know, a teddy bear or something— and ask her if she'd like to be your girlfriend." Hiroshi laughed a little and shook his head. Akane raised an eyebrow. "Did I say something funny?" "It's just a little typical, don't you think? It doesn't seem personal. I'll bet that's what every guy does." Akane felt a corner of her mouth climb up. Trust Hiroshi to not be exactly like every other guy. "Put yourself in my place," he continued. "What would you do?" Akane closed her eyes and considered again. "Don't treat her like she's somebody to be bought. Give her something inexpensive, but personal." She opened one eye to peer at him. "Kuno once gave me a pair of small diamond studs. I can't tell you how insulted I was— because he knew how I felt about him, but somehow thought an expensive gift like that would change my mind." "Well, Kuno's a thoughtless bastard." Akane's smile twinkled. "Duly noted. You should still take her out, though. Offer to pay twice. Any more is insulting. And nothing corny like opening a car door for her or offering her your jacket— unless she really seems cold." Hiroshi blinked. "You've really thought about this, huh?" "Hey, every girl has her vision of the perfect date. Me, I'm a sucker for the occasional chivalrous gesture— but if it's repeated too often, the guy looks like..." Akane floundered. "Like Kuno?" "I was searching for somebody else to mention but that pretty much hits the nail on the head," Akane giggled. "Thanks for the advice." "No problem," Akane replied softly. "And, uhm— thanks for coming. It was really nice to have you over." Noting his cue, Hiroshi rose. "Well, like I said, you already paid me back. I'll talk to you tomorrow at school, alright?" "Yeah," Akane replied, feeling strangely empty. "Later Hiro. Hope your eye feels better." Hiroshi shrugged as if to demonstrate that it wasn't really a very big deal. "Pick you up for school?" Akane's eyes briefly met his. He was still her friend. "That'd be great."
Six
Akane paused her hand inches from rapping on Nabiki's bedroom door. She had yelled at her sister pretty recently, and said some nasty things. But now she needed her. "Oneechan?" she whispered. "You awake?" There was a small pause. "No, go away." Akane slipped inside and closed the door gently behind her. The lights were on. Nabiki was sitting at her computer and gazing at what appeared to be a random set of symbols, as far as Akane could tell. "I said, go away." Akane shrugged. "You also said you were asleep, you know." After a couple of moments of silence, Akane tried again. "I'm really very sorry about what I said before, Nabiki. I hope you'll forgive me." Nabiki turned to face his younger sister, her expression surprisingly bleak. Akane wondered how anybody could look that bleak and still be smiling. "I'm not really angry with you," Nabiki informed her. "Or not very. But I couldn't let it go just like that, now could I?" Akane felt relieved and disgusted all at once. "I think both of us are a little on edge," she hazarded. "You can say that again," Nabiki replied tiredly. Her eyes flickered to the screen and back again. "Nabiki— you know I'm worried about you. I think Kasumi is, too. Even father has to have noticed you're acting strangely. It's not like you to foul up a transaction. Next time you might really get hurt." Akane paused, wondering if she could continue... if Nabiki wouldn't get seriously angry if she did. She clenched her jaw. "Maybe its time to quit while you're ahead?" Akane found that she'd trailed off a little at the end. Nabiki's eyes flickered with some indefinable emotion. "Perhaps you're right." Akane started. "Excuse me?" "I'm working on a project right now that seems to be taking up all of my time." She gestured obliquely in the direction of her computer screen. "With all the work I'm doing, I don't sleep, I barely eat... maybe its time to devote myself to this one endeavor entirely." Nabiki raised her hand to her mouth as she yawned. Akane frowned. "I-is it that important?" Nabiki didn't reply, but Akane supposed her question had been pretty self- evident. There was a pause in which Akane did her darndest to observe the contents of Nabiki's computer screen. As far as she could tell, the characters were not in any language she'd ever seen before. "Is there something else?" her elder sister inquired dryly. "Y-yes. Actually..." Akane swallowed. "Would that— I mean, can you..." "A favor?" Nabiki tried raising her eyebrows coolly but spoiled it by yawning. "Please," Akane tried again. "I— I think I'm beginning to remember those missing months." Nabiki's eyes flew open. "You are?" "There was a girl who was staying with us. Right?" "A girl?" Nabiki blinked, as if unsure about how to proceed. "Well, yes, she stayed with us some of the time. Why?" "Was her name Ranma?" Akane whispered. Nabiki sat bolt upright in her computer chair. "And— and is she... did she...?" Nabiki nodded. "I'm afraid so." "Since she stayed with us, do you have any pictures of her that I could see, please?" Nabiki's lips twitched, as though she were trying to start a smile. "Pictures? She— she liked pictures, and she was very photogenic. I'm sure I have some. Let me look, and I'll give you a couple tomorrow. Is that okay?" Akane threw her arms around her sister's neck. "Thanks, oneechan. I really owe you." Nabiki's arms looped loosely around Akane's waist. "Nope, you don't— I'm not doing that stuff right now, remember? But I'll keep it in mind... for later." Akane frowned at the window. Outside, the air was misty. It looked like it was going to rain. She snuggled more deeply under the covers, not wanting to wake up fully. But Hiroshi was going to be waiting for her outside, and Kasumi would be calling her for breakfast soon, and... Akane sighed as she sat up, scratching a troublesome spot on her back. She rose, and went to her dresser mirror to brush her hair. It was strange to see that person blinking back at her, strange to see her hand and the hand of her image rise together to grasp her brush, strange to see that their breathing fell under the same rythym. Akane felt caught by her own eyes. Leaning forward on her elbows, she drew closer to the image, watching it blink as she blinked, move as she moved. The her from the last six months was an utter stranger to her. When she’d first woken, she’d noticed little differences like the fact that she’d grown a half-inch and her favorite skirt didn’t fit her anymore... “Developing a Narcissus complex, or have you just found a zit?” Nabiki inquired dryly from the doorway. “Ewww! Nabiki, you’re gross!” Akane declared, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest angrily. She reappraised her sister, who looked a little ruffled standing there in her pajamas, but rested. “Hey! Did you get some more sleep last night?” “Not before I did this,” Nabiki replied, tossing a small square of paper in Akane’s direction. Akane snatched it out of the air deftly. “What’s—?” Akane’s tongue froze. Gazing up earnestly out of the picture in her hand was one of the prettiest girls she’d ever seen, a Japanese redhead. The girl had an unruly, tomboyish haircut that hung slightly in her eyes, which were bright blue and snapped with life. There was something else in that gaze, something altogether mischievous that Akane couldn’t help but notice. A tight braid pulled the rest of her hair away from her face. She wore a Chinese-style red shirt that was rather obviously too big for her, and black pants to match. She looked like a girl dressing up in her big brother’s clothes. “Ranma,” she whispered. Her gaze shifted reluctantly over to her sister again, as though she expected the image to disappear from her hands. “Have you got any others?” Nabiki nodded. “I just picked out a couple.” The older girl frowned worriedly. “I just wanted to really make sure you weren’t going to go into hysterics...” Akane shook her head. “I’m fine. May I see them now?” Nabiki bobbed her head once. “Here’s another.” She reached out slowly to hand Akane the photograph. Akane snatched it to herself greedily. This one was even better, more telling. Ranma was walking along the fence that ran along Akane’s route to school— she recognized it immediately. The redhead had her hands stuck in her pockets. “What incredible balance,” Akane breathed. The dark-haired girl walking with Ranma in the picture was certainly she, although Akane had no recollection of that day. The picture-girl’s expression was some kind of mix between angry and exasperated. Ranma’s expression was, on the other hand, something like a mix between happy and exasperated. Fond. And she was looking at the Akane in the photograph, who was obviously oblivious to the attention. Akane lifted her eyes to meet Nabiki’s. The older girl was smiling fondly at the picture, herself. “Ranma never seemed to walk on the ground,” she said, her voice sad and happy all at once. She handed Akane the next picture. This one was obviously a set-up shot. The picture included the entire family: Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. Ranma stood just a little off to the side of the shot, as though not quite sure where she belonged. The redhead’s expression was resigned, as though she were used to being shifted to the side in such a manner. There was also an older, balding man in the shot who Akane assumed was one of her father’s friends. Akane’s eyes watered. “Thank you, Nabiki,” she whispered softly. “It was no problem, sis,” Nabiki said lightly. “Time to get ready for school now.” She smiled that wistful smile again and left Akane to her thoughts. Akane stared at the first and second photographs, blinking at them. They did not help. The redhead was just as far away from her as she’d ever been. But at least the photos had helped her to put some things together. Ranma had cared for her. It was easy to see in that second shot, and Akane was sure that this was why her sister had selected it. Ranma had a brilliant, vivacious personality, too—anyone could see that from the first picture. But Ranma had felt out of place in her family. That was just as easy to see. Akane bit her lower lip and stowed the photographs in her bookbag.
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