literature

Akane? What's Wrong? Part 1

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Zzzzzzzzz!

Ranma swung his hand around wildly, looking for the snooze button.

Zzzzzzzzz!

Opening his eyes just far enough to squint, Ranma located the alarm clock and hit the button to give himself an extra nine minutes of shuteye.

Zzzzzzzzz!

"Damn it!" Ranma yelled. Stupid clock. He grabbed it firmly, and with one motion, unplugged it from the wall and sent it sailing through the window. "Today's off to a good start," he muttered. Wiping his eyes, he walked sleepily across the room to his dresser. A shirt lay on top. 'Was this clean?' he thought. He picked it up and smelled it.

No!

Gagging and slightly more awake, Ranma rummaged through the top drawer until he found a clean shirt and pants. He dressed himself and quietly opened the door to the hallway. Pop was sleeping in, and the last thing he needed was a fight in the morning for waking his dad up.


Akane studied herself in the mirror. She didn't feel well today. In fact, she hadn't felt well yesterday, either. She knew Kasumi would be making breakfast at that moment, but she wasn't the slightest bit hungry. Just the thought of food made her feel queasy. She hoped she didn't get sick again like yesterday. She'd swear she had morning sickness, except she and Ranma hadn't done anything.

Her wandering mind provided some relief from her symptoms. Morning sickness.. heh. There was only one thing that caused that, and the thought of it made her smile ear-to-ear. Even though she'd only known Ranma for about a year, her once angry thoughts of him turned wishful when she imagined a life married to him. With the whole thing planned, it would only be a couple of years out of high school before they were married and starting a family. At least, she hoped Ranma wanted a family. She did.

A feeling of weakness dragged her from her happy thoughts. She steadied herself and walked slowly out toward the living room.


Ranma was already seated at the breakfast table when Akane entered. She sat down but didn't take any food. Ranma eyed her suspiciously. He'd never admit it to her, but he had feelings for her. Strong feelings. Right now, those feelings were of worry. For the past couple of weeks, Akane seemed to be getting more and more tired. At first, he thought she might have been overextending herself at school. After all, she was pairing her advanced placement classes (that Ranma couldn't get into) with time in the skate club. Then, a couple of days ago, he realized there was more to it. Akane started to look pale, and he was pretty sure she was losing weight. Not a lot, but enough to notice. Then, she told him that she'd been sick the day before. Akane caught him staring. "What's the matter?" she asked, noticing the concern in his eyes. He shook his head and finished his breakfast.

They walked out into the cool late-September air. The leaves had turned colors, and in places they fluttered lazily to the ground. As they walked to school, Ranma swore he'd confess his feelings to Akane at some point during the season. As great as Christmas was, and summer for having no school, there was something about the autumn sky that brought out his soft side.

"Looks like we're going to be raking pretty soon, huh?" he asked to break the silence. Akane looked around. "Yeah, looks like it," she answered. Ranma studied her for a moment. She'd put on her yellow sweater on account of the chilly weather-- she looked so pretty in that sweater.

"Hey, Akane?"

"Huh?"

"Have you been feeling okay?"

Akane was taken aback. She knew she'd been a little off lately, but she didn't realize it was noticeable. "I think I might be getting the flu or something, why?"

"You've been looking kinda pale. And you're always tired. I was just... I dunno... worried about you..."

For the second time that day, the happy feelings Akane felt pulled her away from the way she was feeling.



The walk home didn't help to set Ranma's mind at ease. Akane hadn't wanted to eat at lunch; it was only with Ranma's coaxing that she ate half a pork bun. If it hadn't been noticeable earlier, the fact that she was unusually pale was definitely noticeable in the afternoon sun. They made it home and were greeted at the door by Kasumi.

"Hello, you two! How was school today?" Kasumi asked. "I think I caught something," Akane answered. "I'm going to go lie down in my room." Akane trudged up the steps. The worry in Kasumi's eyes told Ranma that he wasn't the only one noticing a change in her. "Ranma, has Akane seemed different to you lately?" she asked. Ranma looked at her, but he couldn't seem to get his voice to work.


Kasumi hung the phone up. "Dr. Tofu said he doesn't have any appointments. We can stop by any time." "Thank God," Ranma replied. "I'll go get Akane." He headed up the steps to Akane's room. She was sleeping on her bed; the fact that she hadn't changed out of her school uniform told him that she'd barely gotten there.

"Akane?" he said. He shook her gently. Her eyes opened. "Oh, Ranma! If Kasumi's cooking dinner, tell her I'm not really hungry. This bug I've got has me really wiped out." Ranma sighed and sat on the bed; Akane sat up in surprise. "Akane..." he began, but lost his voice again. Akane put her hand on his arm. He was shocked by how pale her skin was. "What's wrong, Ranma?" she asked. "Kasumi and I want you to go see Dr. Tofu. You haven't looked well in a couple of weeks and we're really... scared." Akane was both touched and worried by the sincerety in his voice. "Sure, Ranma, let me change and we'll go."


They walked to Dr. Tofu's clinic in silence. Akane's mind was filled with thoughts of how Ranma was acting so worried; Ranma's mind was filled with, well, worry. He wasn't a particularly religious person, but as they entered the clinic, he said a prayer to himself.

Dr. Tofu and Ranma came into the exam room. They'd just finished talking alone about how Akane was acting, and Ranma had to uncomfortably explain that morning sickness was not a possibility. He wished it were a possibility, but that's another story. He'd had plenty of perverted thoughts about Akane before, but they were at the back of his mind. All he cared about at that moment was knowing that the girl he loved was all right.

Dr. Tofu talked with Akane about how she'd been feeling. He seemed concerned when she told him that she'd been feeling tired and not hungry. He examined her stomach and listened to her heart. After writing some things down, he pulled a chair over and sat down. "Akane, I want you to go to the main hospital in Nerima for some tests," he said. Ranma and Akane jumped a little at the suggestion. "I think something's wrong with your stomach. Maybe an ulcer. I can't tell with the equipment I have here. I've made an appointment for you in the morning." "Is it that serious that you need to find out right away?" Akane asked, meekly. Dr. Tofu smiled his smile that could put anyone at ease. "No big deal, Akane. I just want the best for my patients." Akane felt a little better. She stood up; Ranma took her hand to steady her. It was the first time that he'd held her hand; she didn't want to let go. "I'll be there as well, so I'll see you when you get there," Dr. Tofu added. Akane's apprehension came back. If Dr. Tofu was going, something was wrong. She squeezed Ranma's hand and felt him squeeze back. At least she knew she wasn't alone.

On the way home, they took a detour through the park. Ranma gazed at the colors in the trees. "Akane," he said, "can we have a seat and talk?" Akane was again touched by the sincerety in his voice. She sat on a nearby bench, and Ranma sat beside her.

"Akane... I'm sorry for all the bad things I've said to you. I didn't mean them, and at the time I thought it was no big deal. There were times when I realized I'd hurt your feelings and I didn't know how to tell you I was sorry."

"Oh, Ranma," she said, "don't worry about all that! I know you didn't mean it."

"Akane... I love you. I'm sorry I never said it to you before. We fought at first, but I realize now that once you came into my life, there would always be a gaping hole if you weren't there any more."

Akane felt tears of happiness in her eyes. She laid her head on Ranma's shoulder, and he put his arm around her. "You're really worried about me, aren't you?" she asked.

"It's probably nothing, but I realized... I realized that if it wasn't, or if something else happened, that I might lose you without ever telling you how I feel."

Akane wrapped her arms around him. "I love you too, Ranma." He kissed the top of her head. "I wasn't too crazy about this whole arranged marriage thing, but I guess if pop had dropped me into Furinkan High and I'd have been looking at the girls, you're the one I'd have wanted." Akane snuggled into him. How was it she could be sick and still feel better than she'd ever felt before?


When they got home, Akane told Kasumi and Soun about her appointment. Both looked concerned, and Soun and Genma left to rent a van for the drive tomorrow. Nabiki seemed unconcerned, though Ranma caught a moment where she thought no one was looking, and she looked like she was near tears. To the family, though, going with Akane was just an excuse to miss school. Ranma gained some respect for Nabiki; her con-artist personality sure helped her put up a brave front.


Ranma tried his hardest, but he couldn't sleep. He prayed that Akane would be okay. He tried to imagine his life without Akane, but he couldn't. It just didn't compute in his brain. He stood quietly, tiptoed to the door, and went out into the hallway. He walked to Akane's door and opened it as quietly as he could. He looked in at Akane; in the dark, he couldn't tell if she was awake or asleep. She rolled over and looked at him. "Hi, Ranma," she whispered. He went in and closed the door behind him. "You okay, Akane?" he asked. "Worried," came the answer. "Yeah, me too," he said. He forced a chuckle. "We're probably worried about nothing. They'll get you in there and find out you ate something wrong a week ago and it's stuck in there." Akane chuckled nervously. "I hope so," she said. He brushed her cheek, leaned down, and kissed it. Akane put her arms around him, and he laid down next to her. In the comfort of eachother's arms, sleep finally came.



That morning felt so weird. It was later than school normally began, but still earlier than he'd get up on his own. The family piled into the van; Ranma sat with Akane. He kept himself occupied by trying to figure out what class they were missing. "What would it be now, third period?" he asked. Akane looked at her watch. "Yeah, I think so. We're getting out of biology right now. Blech!" "Yeah, I'm missing math," Nabiki added. "Math in the morning was the worst decision I ever made!"

Ranma took Akane's hand. A smile crossed Nabiki's face. "Don't worry, sis," she said. "Looks like Ranma's going to keep an eye on you."

Akane spent the next hour undergoing the strangest barrage of tests she'd ever seen. Drink this, lie here, breathe in, breathe out. Then came the hour of waiting in uncomfortable silence. At least Genma was thoughtful enough to go get food for everyone (though, with his appetite, he was bound to seek out food eventually anyway). Finally, Dr. Tofu and the specialist she'd seen came into the waiting room. Dr. Tofu looked unusually tired, but more importantly, he didn't notice Kasumi at all. "Akane, can we talk to you in the back?" he said.

Ranma paced for what seemed like an eternity, though according to the clock, it was four minutes and twenty-two seconds. He heard a door open, and he swung around to look. Akane stood with tears streaming down her face; Ranma rushed over to her.

"Ranma... I have cancer..."
Chapter 1 of 2: "Have you been feeling okay?"

Ranma and Akane have fought against a million demons, monsters, and people intent on getting a piece of one of them. This time, they're up against an enemy that no amount of martial arts can defeat.

Part 2: [link]

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animelover74's avatar
I hope Akane doesn't die! I mean she just can't. But I'll keep reading to see what is gonna happen.