You'll See- Prologue



Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko. Ranma ½, 
characters, and plot devices are all copyright of Shogakukan, Kitty Animation 
Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. 
This story copyright 1999/2000 - Rebecca A. Catanzaro 


Genre/Rating: This part of 'You'll See' contains a bit of violence, and some 
painful torture. If you are totally adverse to any -real- pain, you probably 
might be a little upset when reading this. Keep in mind that the violence in 
this section is a vitally important part of the plot, it's not just in there 
'cause Becka has some kind of fetish for it. Also, to warn you now, this entire 
series is going to be pretty miserable, so if you're not into sad stuff, Becka 
recomends that you shouldn't bother to continue reading. 

Notes: Just so all of you know, a bonbori is the name of the balloon-on-a-stick 
weapon that Shampoo uses. 



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

You think that I can't live without your love, you'll see. / You think I can't 
go on another day. / You think I have nothing, without you by my side, you'll 
see, somehow, someway. / You think that I can never laugh again, you'll see. / 
You think that you've destroyed my faith in love, / You think after all you've 
done, I'll never find my way back home, somehow, someway. / All by myself, I 
don't need anyone at all. / I know I'll survive, I know I'll stay alive. / All 
on my own, I don't need anyone this time. / It will be mine, no one can take it 
from my. / You'll see. / You think that you are strong, but you are weak, you'll 
see. / It takes more strength to cry, admit defeat. / I have truth on my side, 
you only have deceit, / You'll see, somehow, some day. / All by myself, I don't 
need anyone at all, / I know I'll survive, I know I'll stay alive. / I'll stand 
on my own, I won't need anyone this time.  / It will be mine, no one can take it 
from me. 
You'll see. 
-Madona 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
"Ranma no Baka!" 
Akane, garbed in her pretty yellow jumper, produced her mallet out of 
hammer-space and swung it hard, landing a heavy blow across Ranma's face. The 
two had been arguing a few moments earlier, and this kind of argument only ended 
in one way. 
Wham! 
Ranma spun around, landing on the ground with a thump, a telltale mark appearing 
across his face. He looked up, his eyes full of hurt, and yelled, "Akane! What 
did you do that for?" 
Akane didn't see the hurt. She just saw Ranma denying something she knew he did. 
He HAD to have done it. It was his fault ; it was always his fault. Akane glared 
at him, bringing her mallet around in another full swing, "You were in my room 
again, weren't you! Weren't you?" 
Ranma never got a chance to answer as yet another of the many blows he should 
have blocked landed on his face. He pushed himself off the ground, "No! I wasn't 
in your room, Akane! Why won't you believe me?" 
"Hah! Like I'll should! Pervert!" Whack. 
"Akane, what are you so angry about?" Whack. 
"You were in my room! You were in my underwear drawer, sicko." Whack. 
"Why would I be interested in the panties of an un-cute tomboy like you?" Whack. 
Whack. 
Akane stood over him, her eyes ablaze, "What did you call me?" 
Covered from head to toe in angry black and blue bruises, Ranma looked at her. 
One eye was slightly swollen, and it made him look pathetic, like someone who 
deserved a little sympathy. Akane didn't care. He made her so mad that all she 
wanted to do was pay him back for what he did to her. 
"I called you an un-cute tomboy! You are! Un-cute, un-sexy, flatter than a wall, 
and the wall can cook better!" Ranma didn't even have time to raise his hands as 
she lighted into him. Whack! Wham! Thump! Thud! Whack! 
Like a minion from hell, she stood over him, anger written in every line of her 
face and the stiffness of her body. Lording over him, she yelled down, "I hate 
you! I never want to see you again, you disgusting pervert! You're just a 
sex-changing freak, Ranma! Even if you weren't, you'd just be a guy, and I hate 
guys!" Akane raised the hammer as her cruel words registered in his mind. With 
every ounce of strength, she swung down hard. The last thing Ranma saw before he 
was knocked out was the blur of a yellow mallet blocking his view of Akane's 
angry eyes. 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
Ranma peeled himself out of the Ranma-shaped dent in the ground, complete with 
pigtail. He brushed himself off with one hand, the other gently touching the 
bruise from his most recent encounter with an angry mallet. Why wouldn't she 
listen to him? He never did the things she accused him off, but that didn't seem 
to matter. All she wanted to do was hit him. Sighing, he mumbled a soft curse 
and headed to the safest recluse he knew of: the roof. 
Looking up at the clouds, Ranma allowed his thoughts to drift back to Akane's 
harsh words. She hated him… she never wanted to see him again… she considered 
him a freak. Yeah, those were really the words he wanted to hear from the woman 
he was supposed to marry. He contemplated a cloud thoughtfully, "You know, I 
never could figure her out," he said to one of the cotton-like balls which 
vaguely resembled a mallet. "She says she hates me… so why do I still save her 
when she needs me?" he halted his eyes widening slightly, "Maybe… maybe I kinda' 
do like her… and the only time she's nice to me is when I take a beating for 
her. She smiles and calls me an idiot. She's so pretty when she smiles…" He 
shook his head, breaking out of his dreamy stupor. "Baka! You really are an 
idiot if that's the only reason you rescue her… to see her smile." 
Any further thinking would need to be saved for later, as Ranma was crushed 
under a weighty bicycle, and perched atop that bicycle was an even weightier, in 
attitude at least, Chinese girl. "Ayia! Shampoo no see you there, Ranma! Let her 
make it up to you with gift of ramen, is okay?" 
Slithering from beneath the bicycle, Ranma nodded, never one to pass up 
'free-eats.' With one slurp, the contents of the bowl Shampoo had given him were 
gone. He smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Shampoo. I was kinda' hungry…" 
The dainty girl clapped her hands together happily, "Oh! Shampoo so happy! 
Ranma, go on date with Shampoo, and day no get any better!" Saying so, the 
energetic girl wrapped her arms around the neck of her future husband, holding 
him in a glomp so powerful that there was only one thing that could break it. 
Whack! 
"And just what do you two think you're doing?" 
Ranma was sent into orbit for the second time that day, leaving the two girls 
alone. Shampoo glared at her greatest rival, "Stupid girl! Why you always hurt 
Ranma? You think he like being hit?" 
Akane Tendo blinked, seeing a tiny glimmer of logic in the Amazon's words. 
Without another word, she turned on her heel and stalked away, her words 
drifting back to Shampoo, "The baka deserves it." 
Sighing, Shampoo hopped back onto her bicycle to finish the rest of her 
deliveries, her thoughts in turmoil. "Why Akane always hit Ranma… and why Ranma 
never stop her?" 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
With a groan, Ranma settled down onto his bed. It was still the same day and all 
of the bruises from his jaunt with Akane had healed themselves nicely. It wasn't 
very late, and normally he wouldn't have retired until later, but for some 
reason he was really tired today. Ever since Akane had whacked him that second 
time, he couldn't seem to get his mind off sleeping and the oh-so-tempting bed 
role on the floor. 
Settling down, he curled into a ball, his soft voice murmuring fitful words as 
he drifted off into sleep. "Stupid Akane… I'm not a freak… I'll prove myself to 
you… you'll see…" 
Perhaps if he had known the consequences of his actions, Ranma might have been 
able to fight of sleep a little longer. As it was, the moment his eyes drifted 
shut and his consciousness wandered to the far recesses of his mind, Ranma 
didn't stand a chance of fighting off the rare and powerful drug that would 
change his life forever. 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
The next morning, Genma Saotome arose from his bed on the floor. He was 
surprised; Ranma usually was up and about far earlier than himself. He shrugged, 
grinning to himself. Let this be a lesson to his son then. If Ranma wasn't able 
to control his internal alarm as a true martial artist should, than he didn't 
deserve to be woken for the delicious breakfast Kasumi had most assuredly 
prepared. Sniggering happily, Genma tiptoed out of the room and to the dinning 
hall. 
Soun and his three girls looked up from their meal as Mr. Saotome entered the 
room. Soun spoke hesitantly, "Say, Soatome, shouldn't Ranma be up now?" 
Genma shrugged, his resounding voice filling the small room easily. "My boy is 
still sleeping, Tendo. I think it's time for another training mission if he's so 
lax. I'll tell him when he wakes up, but first, let's eat!" 
Soun, seeing no reason to argue against a third helping, let the matter slide 
until after breakfast. Ranma still hadn't woken up, so he sent Kasumi to check 
on his future son. Secretly he hoped that Ranma wouldn't be too mad at missing a 
meal, and he figured that Kasumi would be the last person he would attack upon 
finding he had neglected breakfast. 
Kasumi rushed back into the room a moment later, her eyes worried, "Father, 
Ranma won't wake up!" 
That got everyone's attention and the group made it's way into the room the 
Soatome's called their own. Ranma was still lying on his bed, not twitching so 
much as a muscle, eyes peacefully closed in sleep. Genma stalked over and hauled 
Ranma's limp body to it's feet, giving his son a shake for good measure, "Come 
on, boy! You already missed breakfast and at this rate, you'll miss lunch as 
well." 
There was no response. 
Genma blinked in surprise, having figured that the mention of missing a meal 
would have brought his son strait to his feet. He released Ranma's body, not 
noticing as it slumped to the ground without the least signs of resistance. 
Akane's eyes widened as she knelt by his side, her hands on his shoulders as she 
shook him frantically, "Ranma! Oh, come on. Ranma, this isn't funny! Wake up!" 
Akane's voice managed to bring Ranma out of whatever stupor he was in for a 
moment. His voice barely audible and slightly slurred, almost as though his body 
was reacting but his mind wasn't there. 
"You'll see… stupid Akane… I'm not a freak…" 
Akane blinked, releasing him abruptly, "What did you say? Ranma, you're such a 
jerk!" So saying, she whipped out a mallet and was about to whacked Ranma hard 
when she remembered the events of the previous day. She'd said some pretty cruel 
things, even though she knew how sensitive Ranma was about his curse. Akane 
dropped the mallet, having called it up only out of reflex, and shook Ranma 
again, unable to bring herself to apologize with the two words she'd never said. 
"Come on, Ranma. Wake up!" 
She turned to Nabiki, her voice concerned yet forceful. "Get Dr. Tofu." 
Nabiki hesitated for the moment. 
"Hurry!" 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
Dr. Tofu finished the examination, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Akane, I don't 
know what's wrong with him. His body is as healthy as ever… but his mind is 
simply not there. Did anything happen yesterday?" 
Akane looked at the man who  she loved, even if she hadn't fully accepted that 
fact yet. Her face, normally energetic and excited, was taunt with worry. As she 
spoke, the fear was evident in her voice. "I… it was just a normal day. Is he 
going to be all right, Dr. Tofu? He's going to make it, right?" 
Sighing, the older man pressed his palm to Ranma's forehead. He simply couldn't 
sense anything there. He didn't know of anything that could do this to someone 
as alive as Ranma… unless… 
Tofu's eyes widened in understanding. Grabbing up one of the many medical books 
from his bag, frantically flipping through the pages, he looked for the obscure 
passage that had triggered in his memory. Akane watched him with new hope 
dawning in her eyes. He stood abruptly, his eyes glancing over the chapter 
quickly. The doctor looked at Akane with an excited smile, "I knew I'd read 
something about this kind of case before. It's so old that it hadn't even 
crossed my mind…" 
Akane hopped up, landing lightly, "What is it, sensei? Can you help him?" 
Tofu shook his head, handing the book to Akane to examine, "I can't be sure, but 
I think that Ranma's condition is a result from a very powerful Chinese curse: 
The Million Little Deaths. The specifics are only known by a select few- the 
Amazons, to be exact. To my knowledge, there have been only two other cases like 
this. Both times, the victim remained in a coma like state." 
Akane blinked, suddenly afraid again, "Ranma's… going… to be in a coma… 
forever?" 
To her relief, the doctor shook his head, "No… the passages weren't very 
specific, but the victims did not remain in a coma forever. In the other two 
cases both victims died, perhaps a day or two after first infected. From what I 
understand, their hearts simply stopped beating. I'm sorry, Akane, but there's 
nothing I can do. I don't think that Ranma's going to last very long if we 
aren't able to find help… very soon…" 
He watched as a variety of emotions passed over Akane's face: shock, fear, 
worry, despair, and finally, determination. She stood abruptly, "Sempai, you'll 
have to excuse me. You'll look after Ranma for me, won't you?" At his nod, she 
smiled grimly and pushed her sleeves up past the elbow, her words leaving Tofu 
speechless for a few moments. "Good. I have a date with a bonbori and I don't 
want to miss it." 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
Akane stalked over to the Neko Hanten, flinging the door open with one hand and 
holding an giant mallet in the other. She called out angrily, "Cologne! Shampoo! 
You two have some explaining to do!" 
The former, a wizened old woman, hopped out from the back room, using her staff 
as a demented pogo stick. The latter continued to deftly serve ramen to those 
who sat, lined up in at intervals along the tables. She paid about as much 
notice to Akane as one pays to a tree in a forest. Not much. 
Akane shook an angry mallet at the old woman, "Did you do it to him? Did you 
curse him?" 
Cologne tilted her head to one side, wondering if the girl was daft. "What are 
you talking about, child? Did I curse who?" 
Akane stomped her foot in frustration, "I don't have time for this! Did you 
curse Ranma with 'The Million Little Deaths' or not? Either way, you're going to 
help me cure him. I don't care if you don't know of any antidote. Invent one!" 
Colognes brow furrowed slightly, eyes drifting to where Shampoo continued to 
work, blissfully unaware of this new development. "'The Million Little Deaths' 
eh? Well, it looks like son-in-law really does attract trouble…" 
Akane snarled, "I told you I don't have time for this!" She threw herself at the 
older woman, intent on beating the information out of her if necessary. She 
never reached her goal, though, as the old woman simply raised her gnarled staff 
to block Akane's assault with ease. Cologne quirked a mild brow in reprieve. 
"Calm youself, child. I'll help cure son-in-law… perhaps. Go back to his side. 
Shampoo and I will be there shortly." 
Knowing that Cologne was her better, in fighting at least, Akane backed away, 
throwing one last glare at the diminutive Amazon. "I don't care what it takes. 
Just cure him." With that, she was gone, leaving only the swinging door in her 
wake. 
The old woman chuckled, turning to her grand daughter, "Come Shampoo. Fetch 
Moose and close the restaurant. We have a marriage to arrange…" 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
Some time later, the Tendos, Soatomes, and mostly everyone else was gathered 
around Ranma's limp body. Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi gazed down at him, willing 
him with their eyes to awaken. The fathers, Soun and Genma, also stared at him, 
their last hope for the two schools. Kasumi attended him, pressing cool 
compresses to his forehead while Nabiki hung back, watching the proceedings with 
interest. Ryoga and Moose also looked at Ranma, surprisingly no hostility in 
their gazes. In fact, it seemed that for the first time, the two off them were 
coming to grips with the fact that Ranma was a friend who cared for them and 
whom they cared about. Dr. Tofu watched Cologne warily, guarding over his 
patient and never letting his mind nor his sight stray to Kasumi. Akane sat by 
Ranma's side, her face drawn. She demanded, "Alright, Cologne. Explain what this 
'Little Deaths' thing is." 
Never one to waste a dramatic moment, Cologne drew herself up as far as the 
staff would allow her, pausing for emphasis,."'The Million Little Deaths' was a 
punishment developed for the most serious crimes that we Amazons face. It was 
debated whether the crime was so great that it would warrant such a punishment, 
and after tested twice, it was banned from the tribe forever. In essence, a drug 
is given to the criminal, causing them to go into a deep sleep. Once this 
happens, nothing can reach them. While asleep, the person's conscious travels to 
another dimension. They are transported into a body in another dimension, and 
this body belongs to their counter part. Once there, they are overwhelmed with 
their counter-parts thoughts, feelings, and memories. They are forced to live 
out their life, and their death… " 
Nabiki interrupted, "That doesn't sound so bad… certainly not as terrible as 
you're making it out to be." 
Cologne just gave her a -look- before continuing, "Once Ranma's counter part 
dies, he is forced into another of his bodies, in another dimension, and once 
again, he must undergo the same torment, never being able to affect what happens 
to him." 
Shampoo blinked, "Ayia! You mean say that Ranma live a thousand times?" 
Cologne continued as though she had not heard her granddaughter's words, "There 
are a few more matters at hand. Ranma will only be transported to bodies that 
have a day or less to live. Essentially, he'll die, over and over again, and for 
a martial artist who is used to being able to protect himself and others, that 
is a grim fate indeed…" 
There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed this information, and the 
horrified looks that followed were divided between Ranma's body, and the old hag 
who stood near it. Ryoga spoke up, his voice trembling. "You mean to say he… 
he'll just die over and over… and it won't stop?" 
Cologne chuckled softly, "Afraid so, sonny boy. That is not the worst of it 
though…" 
Akane's heart was suddenly weighed down with dread, "Not… the… worst…?" 
The old woman smiled grimly, "Not by a long shot, child. Have you ever imagined 
how he might die? He'll drown; he'll suffocate; he'll be killed in battle; he'll 
choke; he'll be decapitated; he'll burn. There are so many ways that his life 
could end, and he'll endure them over one hundred times. What if his 
counter-part takes his own life? What would it be like for son-in-law to watch 
as he was forced to take his own life… and to know why he was taking it? What 
would it be like it you or Shampoo or Ukyo killed him? Do you think his deaths 
will be instantaneous? It could take days, even weeks for him to die, and he'll 
be fully conscious through it all." 
Silence once again greeted her words. 
The old woman looked down at Ranma, as did every one else as he moaned softly, 
his face twisted in pain. Her voice was soft, "Now do you understand why this 
punishment is perhaps the greatest of all? Why it was banned? Time passes more 
quickly for him in the alternate dimensions. He could have died at least 200 
times by now…" 
Genma looked at his son, his eyes wavering for the first time with compassion, 
"My God…" 
Cologne's mouth twisted in a cruel smile as she stared coldly at Ranma's father, 
"You're always telling him to take it like a man, Soatome. Do you think he'll be 
as strong as you want him to be if he survives this hell?" 
The older Saotome looked downwards in shame. Cologne nodded once, then pulled 
out a small vile of green liquid. "Then, let us see if he is still the same 
man…" 
Ukyo blinked, "Is that… a cure…?" 
Everyone held a collective breath. Cologne nodded, "It is, but once I give this 
to him, you will relinquish all rights on son-in-law." 
Akane had expected as much, and she nodded slowly, surprising all who were 
present, "Done. Hurry! Cure him before he has… has to die again…" 
Nearby in the rafters, an old shriveled man remained hidden from their view. His 
hiding spot was one of the best that the old hentai knew, leaving the entire 
room open to his view. This was especially useful when Ranma happened to be a 
girl… and needed to change. There was one fatal flaw in this alcove though, and 
that was that he could not clearly hear what was being said. He caught a few 
words such as, 'Ranma' 'man' and 'cure'. His gazed narrowed. They were trying to 
take away Ran-chan's beautifully lithe young body. He could not allow such a 
waste to occur. 
Cologne turned, about to feed Ranma the foul concoction when, out of no where, a 
small blur flung itself down at her. Happosai snatched the vial from Colognes 
hands, his face set in a grim determination. "No! I will not allow you to take 
away my beautiful Ranma! I will not be privy to a plan to deprive the world of 
her fine pert breasts!" With that, he smashed the bottle against the floor with 
a gleeful cry of, 'Sweet!'. As he looked up, he was met with total silence. 
Crickets chirped. 
In a flurry of motion, the old pervert found himself bound in black ribbon, and 
pinned to the wall with small spatulas. Above him stood four righteous women, 
holding black roses, bonboris, spatulas, and a mallet that could probably level 
the dojo. "Wha… wha'd I do?" he managed to ask pathetically. 
Fire in their eyes, the girls proceeded to beat the Master senseless, the 
silence punctuated only by his low cries of pain. 
"Ayia! Stupid pervert-man condemn Ranma to die! Shampoo no can forgive!" 
"You! How dare to hurt Ranchan like that! I will punish you!" 
"You old fool! You will know the wrath of a righteous woman for Ranma-darlings 
suffering! Ahahahahahahaha!" 
Akane drew back her mallet and with a burst of strength that would have done 
Ranma proud, she pounded the hentai into the ground in a single strike, placing 
him ear-deep in concrete. 
Unnoticed by all, Cologne's hands trembled. Her mouth was dry as she stared 
stupidly at the remains of the glass bottle. It had taken her years to gather 
all the necessary ingredients for the Amazon punishment ritual, and even more 
time to prepare it and one vial of its antidote. She had waited until the 
perfect time to send Shampoo to Ranma with the poisoned ramen. There was no 
cure… not anymore. Even with Nabiki's resources, the cure would still take a 
year to create. A year here… 10,000,000 life times and deaths for Ranma. No one, 
she recalled, had lived past a week, and even if the antidote were given in 
time, the Ranma's mind would have all the intelligence of a shrub. She murmured 
too softly for anyone to hear, "If son-in-law cannot survive, he does not 
deserve Shampoo." She tried to comfort herself with those words, but they rang 
hollow. Cologne was far to old to lie to herself; not even Ranma would live 
through this. He would die, and it would be her fault. She shuddered slightly, 
knowing that she would blame herself forever for this fatal error that cost a 
young man his life. 
She turned to all in the room, save Happosai who was now beneath her notice. She 
murmured softly, "There is no other cure." 
Akane turned towards the old man, looking down at him with tearful eyes. She 
summoned her mallet, and those around her backed up as she swung down on the old 
fool's head. The blur of the mallet was the last thing Happosai saw before he 
blacked out. 
Akane pressed balled hands to her eyes, attempting to stop the endless flow of 
tears. She screamed down, "Damn you, hentai! That was the cure! That was the 
only cure, and you broke it! Now… now he won't wake up!" 
Akane began to sob in earnest, and Ryoga laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. 
She spun, burying her face in his chest, her words incoherent, but their meaning 
was clear, "Ranma… he… he's…" 
This seemed to dawn on the other fiancés as well. Moose held a trembling Shampoo 
close; Kodachi leaned against the wall for support, looking pale; and Kasumi 
attempted to comfort the grief stricken Ukyo. Soun looked ready to burst into 
tears while Genma starred blindly down at his only son. Nabiki stepped forward, 
"How long would it take to gather whatever ingredients necessary?" 
Cologne pulled out a list, perhaps a foot in length, covered in small neat 
writing. Nabiki stared at it for a moment, then spoke slowly, "I assume most of 
the items on there are rare… perhaps one of a kind?" 
The old woman nodded. Deciding that something needed to be done, and someone 
needed to do it, Nabiki took the list, looking around at all present. "All of 
you, be quiet. You want Ranma back, you're going to have to work and work fast. 
All of you are acting like he's dead. Well he's not! And if any of you were 
lying there, he'd probably already be off looking for this stuff." She held up 
the scroll, then glared at all present. "So what are you waiting for? Let's go 
people. Move it." 
Nabiki settled herself down, pulling out a pad of paper and a thin pencil. She 
began her rapid fire of questions, "Alright, who here's ever heard of 'Red Root 
of the Dragon's Den'?" 
And so it began… 
***** ## *** ## ***** 
The First of the Million Little Deaths: 
Ranma opened his eyes, or more precisely, Ranma's eyes opened on their own. 
He lay on his back, on something hard with lots of jagged little points. His 
eyes told him that he was in the middle of the aftermath of a war. His mind 
supplied the rest of the information: he was sprawled in the middle of the Town 
Square. The pointed things in his back were bits of glass and rock from the last 
blast that hit. 
What 'last blast'? As soon as the thought entered his mind, the answer was 
there. The last blast from the attack. He'd been walking down the street with 
his wife when the raiders had hit and hit hard. Wife? A mental image of a 
slightly older Akane filled his mind as she smiled warmly at him. 
Huh? A thousand memories hit his mind, memories enough to fill a lifetime. His 
name, they said, was Ranma Tendo. He was a forty-five year old accountant who 
had settled down happily with his childhood friend, Akane Soatome. The two of 
them had taken over the 'Anything Goes School of Mathematics' almost twenty 
years prior. They lived with their three children, Jon, Jan, and Spot, in the 
Nerima region of Japan. Ranma Tendo had never once been in a fight, having 
preferred to study for most of his young life. To Ranma -Soatome's- amazement, 
he understood everything that the man in this life had studied. He could parrot, 
word for word, every book this scholarly-self of his had ever read. He knew math 
like the he knew his Art, and given any problem with a mathematical solution, he 
could solve it. It was one of the most stunning rushes of his lifetime. It 
didn't last. 
He was hauled rudely to his feet by a beefy hand. To Ranma's shock, he found 
himself staring into the face of one Genma Soatome. His father… his old man… but 
the newer half of Ranma's consciousness told him that this man was not his 
father. This man was the leader of the Raiders party, which terrorized the 
entire continent of Japan. 
Genma's breath was foul as he stared curiously into the younger man's face. His 
eyes were open, but he didn't look all that well. In fact, the older man noted 
with amusement, he looked half dead, and would be soon, by the size of the cuts 
and burns on his back. "Well well," Genma Kuno, leader of the Raiders, drawled 
out, "Look what I have here boys. Seems like one of these weaklings actually 
managed to survive the blast…" 
Ranma Saotome was about to shove his pop's hands off of him when he realized he 
couldn't move; he couldn't do anything else at all for that matter. That was 
when he heard it. Another voice inside his head, << Oh dear Goddess, what is 
this man? Akane! Oh, oh Goddess please let her be all right. Please let her have 
escaped…>> 
Ramna knew that voice well. It was his own. His mind went over the possibilities 
quickly: an alternate dimension? Probably. He was inside his mind in an 
alternate dimension, and he couldn't affect anything that was happening. How to 
change that… he focused all his concentration, and at last, he gained the 
desired response, his right pinky twitched momentarily. He immediately stopped, 
because it hurt his mind to do so, and besides, something was happening. 
Genma looked the man over again, surprised that such an obvious bookworm had 
survived an atomic blast that had leveled the entire city. Before he had time to 
think the matter over more, his second in command, his son in fact, called out, 
"Yo, pops. We got another survivor here." 
Genma's brows shot up in surprise. "Two survivors? God, are you sure that thing 
was the same kind we used to level Crystal City?" 
Tatewake Kuno nodded, "Yeah… kind of hard to believe though. This one's a 
woman!" 
Ranma's mental eyes widened in shock, that long black hair, the pretty yellow 
dress; Oh god, no. Not her… not Akane. 
Several men, toughened and hardened soldiers of fortune, walked over to their 
leader, eyeing the half-conscious woman in speculation. One spoke up, "Sir, we 
ain't got another city to nuke for a few hours…" Twisted smiles crossed the 
faces of all present. The woman was beautiful, with a pure and innocent 
child-like quality about her that made their mouths water. Genma dropped the 
broken man, and began to strip down, pulling his shirt off. The rest of the men 
followed his example and both Ramnas watched in horror as they all descended on 
Akane… their beautiful perfect, if stubborn, Akane. Ranma Tendo was mad with 
pain but he still hauled himself slowly to his feet. His voice was a hoarse 
whisper, but they heard it. 
They all turned to find a dead man on his feet, stumbling towards them with hell 
in his eyes, "She's… mine… don't any of you bastards… touch her." Genma was 
impressed, thinking that this dead man had to love the woman very much if he 
could stand in spite of all his pain. 
A cruel and feral grin crossed his mouth. "Hey boys, think we should take care 
of her little man first? It would only be polite." There were several bawdy 
remarks and a short bark of laughter. Then they converged on a man who had never 
once had any injury more serious than a cold. Kick, punch, spin kick, slam; 
Ranma Tendo slumped to the ground, his mind reeling from the glass cuts and the 
burns and from the severe beating he was taking. They hauled him to his feet, 
dragging him over to watch, repeatedly, exactly what they did to his precious 
wife. He fought, fought with more strength than he knew he possessed, every time 
one of Akane's screams reached him, and each time he was beat down by one of the 
men holding him back. Ranma Saotome watched this in agony, feeling everything 
his counterpart felt physically, and sharing the pain of watching Akane… knowing 
there was nothing that he could do to help her. 
Even as her hoarse cries turned to bare whispers, tears trickled down Ranma's 
face. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of one of the men 
holding a knife. The man was watching Akane with interest, his eyes flitting 
between he weapon and Akane's body. Smiling sinisterly, he advanced on her prone 
form, kneeling down, then thrusting upwards. 
Ranma felt something in him snap, even as his counterpart faded, the other 
Saotome forced the body to stir as he willed it. He could move! A half-mad howl 
erupted from the back of his throat, so powerful that the men holding him 
stumbled back, fear and awe in their eyes. 
Focusing his entire being on what he was doing, he spun, one leg connecting 
solidly with Tatewake Kuno's face. There was a snap and the younger Kuno went 
down. Induced by his berserker rage, Ranma twisted and turned, delivering blow 
after blow to each body that got in his way. He lunged for the man who still 
knelt over Akane's form, pounding his face in. Blood and ooze covered his hands 
and finally, when no one else challenged him, his rage and hate collapsed, 
replaced by terror, anguish, grief, and a despair so powerful that the few 
raiders who still stood retreated, watching the dead mad man from a distance. 
Controlling his body was becoming easier for him, and even through the pain, he 
forced himself to crawl to his only love's side. Her body was limp and broken, 
for any kind of humiliation that could be afflicted onto one person had been 
done unto her. His trembling hands wrapped around her body, pulling her against 
him as he rocked on his knees, moaning like a wounded animal. Her name issued 
from his lips as he called to her softly, the tears running down his face, the 
sobs caught in his throat. 
Akane's eyes fluttered open, and the expression in them mirrored his own. He 
held her firmly but gently to his chest. She leaned into him, and in a voice 
that was hoarse from screaming, she murmured, "R… ranma…?" 
He ran his fingers through her hair gently, his own voice small, "I… i'm 
suh-sorry… Akane… oh god, Akane… I'm so… s-sorry…" 
She closed her eyes, her words dying off, "I… lo…" 
Ranma bowed his head, knowing the moment her heart slowed down, and finally 
stopped and died altogether. The men who had watched this scene with wide eyes 
felt their own hearts go still as the man who should have died a thousand times 
already, threw back his head and screamed. A mad howl that resounded and echoed, 
causing men and woman miles away to look up and wonder what sort of beast could 
produce a sound so tormented and haunted, a sound that no human voice ever 
should be able to. It was only a single word: a name. 
Seeing the two, man and woman, together in a single living statue, Genma and his 
men turned and walked away. Later they would contest that they had a schedule to 
keep, but deep inside they knew, without a doubt, that the man would have turned 
to face them with dead eyes, and that he would have welcomed the end they 
brought. So Ranma stayed there, staring down at the body of the woman he loved 
as he slowly bled to death on the empty cement walkway.