Title: As Long As You Love Me
Author: Bill the Radish
Warnings: Lots and lots of lovely morbidity and angst. ^^ That's all for this part.
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 does not belong to me. The song 'As Long As You Love Me' belongs to the and, believe it or not, is the inspiration for this story. ^^;; Trust me on this.
Summery: Faced with something of unimaginable power, the Ranma cast deals with the outcome.
Pairing: Ranma/Ryouga
Archive: Please. If you want it anywhere but the RRyaoi archive, fine, just tell me where.
C&C: Please! Beg, scream, rant, rave, and above all, *CRITIQUE*! Notes: Big thank you to Sarita-chan for getting the lyrics for me as I can't seem to find lyrics on my own no matter how hard I try. ^^;

***

As Long As You Love Me

***

Hideous, mocking laughter filled the air as a body went flying. A girl's terrified shriek echoed a pained grunt as the body connected with and broke through a wall, headfirst. The first horrendous crash was quickly echoed by another, nearly identical, crash that sounded through the bleak landscape. The first wall faded into mist and a body was revealed laying half-way through the second wall. Clothes were shredded in several places to reveal, not flesh, but blood and the already purple stains of massive bruising. Horrible gashes streaked across the body's sides and abdomen, painting the rubble with fresh blood. Fingers twitched twice before their hands fell ominously still. The rubble covering most of the figure's upper body and all of the wall except that which cradled the fallen figure faded into the mist. Wide brown eyes stared sightlessly up, seemingly ignorant of the brilliant red and purple designs springing up directly around them. New rivers of crimson life streamed down from the temples, cheeks and mouth to join with a steadily growing pool directly below the sightless head. A pool far too large to have been caused by just the wounds on the face.

Brown eyes blinked and the head spasmed, turning slightly though not on purpose. Lips moved in a near silent plea with a whisper soft as death itself.

"Ranma..."

***

"Ryouga!" Ranma shot up, covered in a cold sweat, and stared blankly at the wall he was facing for a few moments. "Dreaming again..." Empty blue eyes closed and opened again with the light of pain so brilliant within them that they seemed to burn. "That same dream. As if living it wasn't enough..."

Ranma let his head fall down to rest in the cradle of his hands.

It had started to become almost...routine. Some overly-powerful freak snatches someone, usually Akane, and Ranma comes rushing to the rescue, usually with unlikely backup. But that... He'd kidnapped Akane for some sort of ritual requiring a 'heart of fire' and Ranma had gone, as was expected of him, to rescue her. Kuno had insisted on joining the ranks because of his love for Akane and hatred for Ranma, Shampoo was there to protect her 'airen' and Mousse had tagged along to protect Shampoo. All three had ended up in the hospital. Ryouga had come too, for obvious reasons, but...

Sighing heavily, Ranma turned tired eyes to the window where dawn was just beginning to make itself known to the world.

Visiting hours wouldn't start for several hours and he couldn't get any nurses or aids to sneak him in until half an hour before then. It didn't matter. It wouldn't be the first time he'd snuck into the hospital to see his rival.

His friend.

Ryouga.

***
end pt 1
***

Ranma dangled. There was really no other word for it.

Tilting his head to one side, Ranma huffed in impatience as the nurse walked around Ryouga's bed for the fourth time. This was taking forever! Glaring impatiently at the wall as though that would make her finish the normally short, routine tasks faster, Ranma carefully adjusted his grip on the window sill. Something was definitely up with Ryouga. He'd had to duck out the window three times now to keep from being thrown out and that itself had happened once. They *never* spent so much time on Ryouga. Not at this time of day anyway, they usually just checked up on him occasionally. What the hell was...

"Coooo..?"

Ranma glared fiercely at the pigeon that had landed on his hand and again tried to physically *will* the nurse in Ryouga's room to leave.

***

A faint mumbling berating the constant flow of interruptions was the only indication of Ranma's entering the room as he stalked toward his friend's bed. Pulling his chosen stool over to Ryouga's bed once again he settled into it, his legs straddling the narrow back, and gazed sullenly down at his comatose friend. Sighing faintly, Ranma reached out one hand to gently brush his friend's overgrown bangs away from his eyes.

Ranma crossed his arms over the back of the short stool and rested his head on them. He couldn't fall asleep or he'd be caught by the next orderly, doctor, nurse, janitor or whoever that came through the doors and be tossed out again but... At least he could rest here. The nightmares chased him everywhere, never letting him rest anywhere but by Ryouga's side. Shaking his head and smiling wryly, Ranma went back to studying Ryouga's face. At least the bruising was gone and most of the cuts and gashes healed up. It made him feel minutely better to concentrate on the differences between this face and the one in his dreams. This face had almost completely healed, all the bruising gone and only a few, nearly closed gashes left. There'd be some vicious scarring, especially around the right eye and temple, but if Ryouga held to form, those would fade fairly quickly. What else... Same blank stare at the ceiling, that was bothersome, but his face wasn't as lax and... Ranma blinked.

Blank stare? Muscle tension?

Ranma leaned forward, his hands clenching the stool back in a combination of disbelief and awe. "Ryouga?"

Brown eyes were hidden briefly as Ryouga blinked and turned his head toward Ranma. "Wh... Where am I? Why's it so dark?"

Ranma frowned. His voice was so weak and what did he mean 'dark'? It was full light outside and he was facing the window. "It's not dark. You're at the hospital Ryouga."

"Hospital? Ryouga?" Ryouga shook his head faintly from side to side in confusion and went back to staring intently but blankly at the ceiling. "Who are you? What happened? Why can't I see anything?"

The hands that had relaxed in disbelief once Ryouga started talking tightened over the back of the stool again. Ranma didn't notice as a small horde of medical personnel rushed into the room or as the metal stool backing warped and broke under his hands. All he saw was the sudden confusion and faint fear on Ryouga's face as white blurs moved noisily around him. All he heard was the rush of his own thoughts repeating Ryouga's words...

'Hospital? Ryouga? Who are you? What happened? Why can't I see anything? Ryouga? Who are you? Why can't I see anything? Ryouga? Why can't I see..?'

***
end part two
***

A slight squeak brought Ryouga out of the bliss of unconsciousness and trained every working sense on the south side of the room. There was no one else in the room and the door was on the north wall so it had to be...

"Hey, Ryouga."

Muscles that had unconsciously tensed up released slowly as a hesitant smile crossed Ryouga's face. It sounded a bit tense but it was definitely the voice from when he 'woke up'. "You again. Do you normally come in through the window?"

A faint shuffle followed his visitor across the room and a soft scraping heralded the chair being pulled toward the bed. When the boy answered him, a smile could literally be heard in his voice. "Well, lately, yeah. They won't let me visit this early if I come in through the door so I come in through the window."

"Wait a sec. I know I'm not on the ground floor. There's a door on the ground level to the east of the window. How do you get up he..." Ryouga broke off as a soft thump came from the ground near where his anonymous visitor should have been sitting. "Are you okay?"

"'M fine." The voice started at the floor and rose slowly but without much background noise. Interesting... "Just took me by surprise when you..."

"Understood the concept of directions? Yeah, I've gotten the impression that I wasn't too good at that before...whatever. A few of my visitors yesterday mentioned it. Now, how did..."

"Who came to visit besides Kasumi and Nabiki?"

It was the last straw, he couldn't help it. He laughed.

"What's so funny?!?"

"You. You came in through a window at least two stories high to visit me outside of visiting hours, didn't introduce yourself or mention how I knew you and... Well, you're the first visitor I've had who didn't treat me like an invalid. It's just, funny."

There was a faint snort from the boy and the chair back squeaked in protest as he put weight on it. "You're on the *third* floor, name's Ranma Saotome and you're the *last* person I'd consider to be an invalid."

A small smile lifted one edge of Ryouga's mouth. He was leaning farther forward now, chair must be backwards. "Well, it's nice to know that not everyone thinks I'm totally hopeless."

"Hmmph... I never said *that*..."

"Gee... Thanks." Ryouga cocked his head to one side, thinking back over Ranma's splurge of answers. "You said I was on the third floor? How do you get in through the window?"

"There's a tree not too far from your room."

"Aa."

"Now, who else has been to visit you?"

"I can't remember all their names... There was two you mentioned, Kasumi and Nabiki? Then, ahhh... Soap and Caribou?" Ranma's laugh interrupted Ryouga's uncertain recollection and his face started to warm up slightly. "Well, they were weird names, I remember that much."

"Shampoo and Mousse. You weren't that far off."

"Whatever. A girl named Ukyou came in a bit after that. We talked a while but she left in a huff when she realized I didn't remember...someone. I forget the name. Strange girl. That's everyone who visited but I did get these..." A vague gesture to the side to where he hoped the gifts were. "I don't know who they're from or what they are really. The nurses said it was flowers but I can hardly smell them."

"Ch. Why send flowers to someone who can't see them?"

"I appreciate the thought. It's nice to know that I have friends, even if I can't remember them."

The silence stretched out uncomfortably after that until chair legs scraping back against tile broke the spell.

"Well, ah, I guess I should go now. You need to rest, right?"

"All I do is rest." Ryouga sighed, shaking his head. "You're right though. Will you come back?"

"Of course!" Ranma's voice was smiling again. "Visiting hours soon enough? It's a bit awkward jumping out the window every time someone comes in."

"Jumping out... Ranma, you're crazy."

"Yeah, but it's you who's been locked up. See you later Ryouga."

"Right." A faint thump from outside signaled Ranma's final exit and a grin stretched over Ryouga's face. "See you later."

***

Ranma sighed and looked up to watch the clouds drift past through the canopy of the tree outside Ryouga's window.

That had been...weird. A lot of fun but... Weird. He and Ryouga had been friends, kinda, but never that...relaxed around each other.

/He doesn't remember... None of it. Ukyou had to be asking about Akane and he had no clue what she was talking about. Doesn't remember Akane, the feud, ... me. I'm not sure if this is good or bad.../

Shaking his head in confusion over the whole thing, Ranma finally stood up and started the walk back to the Tendo's.

The first thing to sink into Ryouga's consciousness was a heady scent that he couldn't place. Plants, some type of flower. Like lavender but too sweet... The next thing to sink in...

"Hey!"

Ryouga snapped completely into awareness as the wrist in his hand jerked back violently. The girl sounded startled but not scared, still... "Sorry, I was asleep..."

The wrist lost it's tension as it was released and the rustling above his head started again. "Well, at least you're reflexes are still good."

"What were you doing anyway?" Inwardly, Ryouga sighed. He'd been hoping Ranma was back but at least this girl didn't seem hesitant like the others.

"Hanging the flowers I brought you." For a moment, the girl paused as she finished off her knot and when she continued her voice was slightly sheepish. "I don't have a lot of money to get you a fancy arrangement or nothin' but since you can't see it anyway..."

"They smell wonderful. What are they?"

A rustle of cloth could barely be heard over the sound of a chair being pulled closer to the bed. "I dunno. Something skinny and purple and these little white flowers, kinda look like bells. I thought you'd like 'em so I, uh, picked them."

Ryouga tried to hold back his smile at the pause. Picked from some poor woman's yard probably.

The chair his unnamed guest had pulled over creaked as she shifted her weight and Ryouga grinned. "You're sitting in that chair backwards, aren't you?" A satisfied smirk crept over Ryouga's face the chair fell to it's side as his guest lept up.

"How did you..?"

"Earlier, I had a visitor who sat that way and the chair made the same sounds. I don't suppose you're related to Ranma Saotome, are you? You talk and..."

"Oh Jeeze! I forgot!"

"What..?"

"I'll be right back!"

Fast paced footsteps raced across the room and the door closed with a soft thud as his visitor raced out leaving a very confused Ryouga behind. A few moments later, the door opened with the same gusto and the mattress next to Ryouga's hip sank with the girl's weight.

"It's easier to explain by showing but...well, you can't see so here." The girl's small hand wrapped around Ryouga's and lifted it to rest against something firm but soft and slightly squishy at the same time. "Don't get any funny ideas now."

The round object under his hand moved with her words and a blush spread quickly over Ryouga's face. No. She wouldn't have...

"I *am* Ranma, Ryouga. It's a curse triggered by cold water and reversed..." At the word 'reversed', Ranma's voice started changing and had deepened to the remembered octave by the final syllable. Hot liquid ran over Ryouga's hand as the round, squishy object shrank and hardened under his palm. Soon, his hand was resting on what was very obviously a male chest. "...by hot water. See?"

Ryouga managed a weak nod before passing out, twin streaks of blood trailing down from his nose.

***

Ryouga stared, as much as one could stare without sight, at the ceiling. Ranma had left quite a while ago but his visit had definitely held surprises...

A pig.

Cold water would turn him into a pig.

Piglet technically but still...a pig. That wasn't exactly the easiest concept to grasp. A good thing to know. A very, very good thing to know but...

"Ryouga?"

Pulled abruptly from his thoughts, Ryouga turned expectantly toward the door.

"Ah, hi. The nurse said you had another visitor but I guess she's gone now..?"

The girl hesitated just inside the doorway, shifting her weight occasionally. Her tone of voice was different from the others, not hesitant so much as...scared? Smiling in welcome, Ryouga gestured to where the visiting chairs were supposed to be. "Have a seat. I won't bite."

"Thanks." She finally crossed the room and pulled a chair closer to the bed. Not as close as Ranma usually sat but that wasn't surprising. Ranma didn't seem to understand personal space...

"So, what's your name?"

"Akane."

"..." - dialogue
/.../ - thoughts
'...' - emphasis

The polite, careful conversation droned on for minutes, increasing in discomfort with every word. Mentally, Ryouga was slamming his head against some undefined hard surface. Akane was obviously uncomfortable and doing her best to keep the visit 'safe'.

Safe wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Why did you come here Akane?"

"Wh...What?"

So surprised. "You're scared. Whether it's me or something else I don't know but if there's anything I can...Akane?!?"

The slightly stifled choking noises that had been popping up every once in a while started up, coming right on top of one another until it sounded like... /She's crying?/

"I... Ryo... I'..." She was definitely crying now and Ryouga leaned forward, one hand stretched out in Akane's general direction. The chair tipped over and fast paced footsteps followed Akane as she ran for the door. "I'm sorry!"

"Wai..!" Ryouga's shout was cut off by the door to his room slamming shut and Ryouga fell back against the pillows piled on his bed.

/That did *not* go well. I wonder who she was.../

***

The mood had definitely changed since his last visit.

"Ryouga?"

A slight smile crossed Ryouga's face as he turned toward the window but his face was still sad. "The window again? Visiting hours aren't over yet."

"Will be soon enough. I plan on staying later than that. Well...until you throw me out at least."

The smile stretched over Ryouga's face was truly something, full of warmth and...friendship. It wasn't something Ranma had seen before. "I don't see that happening anytime soon. Have a seat."

Ranma frowned at the fallen chair before picking it up and pulling it into his normal backwards sitting position. "What happened?"

A shadow settled over Ryouga's face again as the smile disappeared. "Another visitor. She just left a few minutes ago but... She was really upset and I couldn't figure out why."

"Akane." Sighing, Ranma lowered his head to his arms and closed his eyes. That didn't stop him from hearing Ryouga sit up suddenly at the name however. "She...blames herself for what happened to you. I'm not surprised she was upset."
"How could she be..?" Ryouga shook his head, a confused frown firmly in place. "What *did* happen anyway? Were you there?"

For a moment, Ranma was completely at a loss. How did you explain something like that? The silence dragged on.

"... Was it really that bad?" Ranma looked up at Ryouga's hushed question and swallowed noisily. "Well... Would you mind if I hit you?"

"WHAT?!?"

Leaning back away from Ryouga, Ranma raised his hands in appeasement even though his friend couldn't see them. "You won't understand how bad it *had* to be if you don't know how hard it is to hurt you!" Leaning forward again, Ranma felt his face closing up in a mask of seriousness. "You're a martial artist Ryouga, you know that much, right?" Silently, he nodded. "Well, one of the techniques you learned made you resistant to impact. You don't get hurt as bad if someone hits you.

"How bad do you think it woulda had to be to put you into a coma for over a week?"

Ryouga settled back on the bed, his eyes closed but lines of thought breaking up the smooth planes of his face. "I see..."

"No, you don't." Ranma sighed irritably and shoved a hand through his bangs. "I'll try and explain Ryouga but..."

"I understand. Thank you for trying."

Nodding silently, Ranma opened his mouth to start his story.

"Grrrr... We're not getting anywhere this way Ranma!"

Ranma's hands clenched into fists involuntarily as he turned angry eyes behind him. Thousands of shifting mirrors reflected his own face back at him from behind Ryouga. "What, you got a better idea?"

"You're hesitating! We're never going to get to the end of the maze if you stop and let it readjust!"

"Hmph. *You're* giving *me* directions?"

With an angry snarl, Ryouga swung out but instead of hitting Ranma, crashed through one of the mirrors behind him. Both boys stared in confusion for a moment, they hadn't been able to break the mirrors earlier, but Ryouga quickly recovered and ran through the new hole with Ranma close behind him.

***

The maze stretched on endlessly and Ranma was grumbling audibly.

"What makes you think you'll find this guy any faster than me?"

"I'm not looking for the guy, that's why."

Surprised, Ranma slowed his steps and opened his mouth to ask a question but before he could vocalize it one of the shifting mirrors slid between them.

"Ryouga!"

"keep moving ranma!" The voice was faint through the shimmering walls but it was definitely Ryouga. "don't stop. keep looking for akane!"

"Ryouga..."

Muffled footsteps faded out of hearing range and Ranma took off in a different direction, face fierce with determination.

He *would* find Akane before that bastard could hurt her.

***

The mirrored maze finally gave way to a rock hallway more suited to the mountain he was lost in. At the end of the hall, a pair of large cumbersome doors stood ajar with a distinctive pair limping through.

"Mousse! Shampoo!"

"Ranma..." Mousse winced as Ranma ran up and helped him with his burden, an unconscious Shampoo. "Don't waste your time here! That thing needs to be stopped!"

"Huh?"

With a faint grimace, Mousse settled Shampoo carefully on the hall floor before looking up to Ranma again. "He's trying to resurrect a god. Ryouga's keeping him away from Akane for now but if he succeeds... Nothing will be able to stop him. Hurry! Ryouga won't be able to hold him back mu..."

A loud crash, then harsh, grating laughter interrupted Mousse and Ranma was immediately running for the doors.

"RANMA!"

Akane's shout went unnoticed as Ranma took in what he could. Kuno could barely be seen in a distant corner of the large chamber, bleeding heavily and obviously unconscious next to a pile of rubble. Akane was strapped vertically to a smooth part of the wall near him and at the center of the room was his adversary. He looked like a harmless old man but when he turned to assess Ranma, his eyes reflected everything like mirrors.

A movement from the rubble next to Kuno brought the gazes of both Ranma and the old man across the room to where Ryouga emerged, clutching his stomach. "You haven't...beaten me yet!"

Ranma's eyes widened at the sheer amount of damage done to the lost boy and unconsciously took a step forward. His shirt was ripped all along his stomach and sides to reveal nasty gashes that criss-crossed in places. Ryouga's arms were covered in bruises and abrasions and when he walked back to the room's center it was with a heavy limp favoring his right leg.

"Fool." Four large shards of mirror appeared in the air around the old man. "My lord has blessed me with his power, you have no chance of defeating me!"

"Maybe not, but..." Ryouga stopped and settled down into a crouch even as he kept one hand curled around his stomach. "I won't give up!"

Ryouga charged forward with an angry cry only to be caught in a field of electricity as the four mirror shards moved into position around him. The mirrors moved and Ryouga was hauled up off his feet and toward the center of the room.

"Foolish boy." The old man raised an arm, forming a fist, and the mirror shards collected there, forming a small circle around his hand. Instead of disappearing, the electric field surrounding Ryouga warped, pulling it's edges in toward the old man. "Rush to your death as you rushed toward me."

On his last word, the shards of mirror exploded outward and disappeared and the electric field dissipated, leaving Ryouga hanging in mid-air. The old man's fist opened and a blast of energy plowed forward into Ryouga, pushing him back into an undamaged portion of the wall.

As he laughed, the wall exploded and crumbled leaving only a large hole behind. From her position on the wall, Akane screamed and then...

***

Ryouga turned toward his guest when the silence continued. "That's all you remember?"

"Yeah. I beat him but I don't know how. I've had...dreams. With little bits of the fight in them and... And finding you."

Ryouga shook his head, staring blindly up at the ceiling. "It's hard to believe... I mean, I went through a wall headfirst! I sho..."

"Two walls."

"Huh?"

"You went through two walls. Well, halfway through the second. I wasn't kidding when I said you were resistant to impact."

"I guess not." A faint frown settled over Ryouga's face as he pulled himself up to a sitting position and turned toward Ranma. "At the beginning, when we were in the maze... Why were we fighting?"

Ranma's chair squeaked in protest as he shifted suddenly. "Well.... Uh... We, weren't exactly *friends* really..."

"What do you mean?" "We were more like...rivals."

"Rivals..." Ryouga felt his lips turning up in a sardonic grin. "My best friend since waking up is my rival?"

"Best..?"

"You're the only person to come back Ranma. Everyone else has only visited once, if that. You don't treat me like glass either." Ryouga turned away again, his eyes closed and confusion lining his brow. No one else was willing to even come *close* to talking about what happened. Ranma you..." Tears threatened to swell as he turned back to Ranma. Eyes opened and slowly widened in shock. "You...have blue eyes."

"Wh..." Surprise, then joy flashed across Ranma's expressive face as he leaned forward. "Ryouga?"

A wide grin split Ryouga's face as he reached one hand out to gently touch Ranma's cheek. "Ranma. You have the cutest nose..." Ranma scowled and Ryouga laughed quietly, studying his friend's face and committing the expression to memory before looking around at his room.

With an exasperated sigh, Ranma pushed his chair forward a bit and stood up. "I'm gonna get a doctor."

"Will you come back?"
Ranma turned with a faint expression of surprise before giving the other boy a faintly disgusted look. "Of course. We're friends now, right?"

"Right. See you later Ranma."

The door closed with a faint click and Ryouga smiled after his friend. /Wonder how he's going to explain being here after visiting hours. Oh well./

Ryouga fell back on his bed and closed his eyes, remembering his earlier visits with Ranma. The faint but distinct smell of flowers drifted over his senses and Ryouga opened his eyes to see the tiny bouquet Ranma had picked for him.

How could someone like that be his enemy?

"Tired of visitors yet?"

"Ranma!" Ryouga shot up, a wide smile of welcome plastered across his face, and promptly dropped his jaw. "Ranma?!?"

Huffing slightly, the redheaded girl pushed herself off of Ryouga's window sill and walked toward the bed, dropping backwards into the closest chair. "Why are ya so surprised? You knew I turned into a girl..."

"Yeah but..." Ryouga shook his head and offered his friend a glass of still hot tea from his untouched dinner tray. "The hair surprised me. Your eyes are different too, it didn't look like you at first."

"Oh, and you'd be such an expert at that right now..."

With a shrug, Ryouga tossed the teasing aside in favor of watching the fascinating change as Ranma's hair darkened, his chest flattened out and a few extra inches were added to his height. The process didn't take long but... /It must look really odd when I turn into a pig.../

"...are you?"

/Whoops./ "Sorry, what?"

"You're *not* sick of visitors, are you?" Ranma's nose scrunched slightly as he raised his hand to rub at the back of his neck. Probably a drop of tea that made it's way past his collar. "I know Kasumi and Nabiki came back and they said there were others since..."

"Since I've got my eyesight back. Right." Ryouga closed his eyes and leaned back against his raised bed again. "Kasumi and Nabiki, Hair Spray and Conditioner... What's so funny?" Ranma failed to reply and fell backwards off his chair, still snickering while a flush started and quickly spread over Ryouga's cheeks, his brow furrowing over still closed eyes. "I got their names wrong again..?"

Somehow, Ranma managed to pull himself back up and nodded. "Mousse and Shampoo."

"Okay, Kasumi, Nabiki, *Mousse* and *Shampoo*, Ukyou...Kodachi and Kendo came by, weird people those two, then there was..."

"Wait a sec, Kodachi and 'Kendo'?"

Light blue eyes were clouded in confusion when Ryouga finally opened his eyes and glanced over. "Don't tell me I got that one wrong too..?"

The confusion vanished with a too-bright smile as Ranma shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Who else?"

Doubt hovered over Ryouga's mind but he lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. "As far as I can tell, all the girls who sent me flowers and their friends. They came as a group so I'm not even going to *try* and remember their names."

Ranma's smirk spoke for him and brought another light flush to Ryouga's cheeks.

An uneasy silence settled over the room and Ranma cleared his throat. "Aren't you hungry? You haven't even touched your dinner..." A wide grin spread over Ranma's face as he lurched over Ryouga and pulled the tray into place, incidentally trapping Ryouga's arms on the bed.

"Uh... Ranma?"

A mouthful of rice appeared in front of Ryouga's face before he'd finished his question.

"Open wide!"

With a quick, incredulous sideways glance at Ranma's smiling face, Ryouga gave in with a sigh and opened his mouth. He didn't mind, it was kind of nice to have someone fussing over him but still...it was weird.

***

Ranma ferried mouthful after mouthful to his not-quite-reluctant friend but he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing. Ryouga had muddled Shampoo and Mousse's names twice now and done the same with Kuno's but he didn't seem to have any problems with anyone else. Just Shampoo, Mousse and Kuno. The only ones to go with him and Ryouga when Akane was in trouble. But...why?

"Hey, Ryouga?" The lost boy swallowed and turned to face Ranma with questioning eyes...and a piece of rice stuck to his lower lip. "You remember the girl that visited you yesterday? She was upset, remember?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"What was her name?"

Ryouga winced and looked up, concentrating on the ceiling tiles. "I...can't quite remember. Wasn't it...Yoiko? Right?"

Hopeful brown eyes turned back down to Ranma who, in return, stared back in shock. /He doesn't remember her name anymore... He doesn't...*CAN'T* remember their names! And Yoiko, why *that* name?!? Is he getting his memory back?/ "Akane. It's Akane."

A slight shrug and sheepish grin from Ryouga pretty much explained how he felt about that. "Oh well, I don't seem to be very good at names, do I?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll work out." Ranma clapped a hand over Ryouga's shoulder and tried to smile convincingly. "I hafta go now anyway, you eat the rest of your food, okay? Need to keep your strength up."

"Yare yare. See you later Ranma."

A wide grin broke out over Ryouga's face and Ranma couldn't help it anymore. He reached out and brushed the obstinate piece of rice off Ryouga's lip. "Tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow. Bye Ryouga!"

/I need to leave, I need to think. Why can't he remember their names and why did he use Yoiko?!?/

***

The curtains bordering the open window waved slightly in the breeze as Ryouga continued to stare at them. Finally, Ryouga pushed the food tray away and raised a hand to his mouth, forehead creased in confusion. "Ranma..?"