PART 3
It had been half-an-hour already, yet Ukyou still remained
on a corner seat of the Nekohanten. Even though she had a
business to run, it wasn't that important when compared to the
goal that she had pursued through love, hatred and love again for
ten years.
"Lunch crowd come soon, spatula girl." Shampoo said,
slightly annoyed at Ukyou's persistence. "Unless want food, say
bye-bye."
"Shampoo, your manners." Cologne chided her
great-granddaughter absently as she prepared the ramen, slightly
disappointed by the fact that Ranma wasn't here for Shampoo after
all. Shampoo pouted and went to set up the tables. Mousse went
to help her immediately. "My love. . ."
Shampoo turned to him with exasperation. "Mousse please
give up! You drive Shampoo insane with pursuit!"
"But I love-"
"Before love someone. . ." Shampoo stared him in the eye.
"You need backbone first!"
Just then, Ranma opened the door and stepped out. Shampoo's
beautiful eyes immediately flashed with excitement. She would
have clung onto him, had Mousse not clung onto her first. "NO,
Shampoo!!" Mousse wailed agonizingly. "I'll change! Don't go
to him!!"
"Mousse let go!" Shampoo started beating on him.
Ranma seemed surprised to see Ukyou still there. "Don't you
need to open your shop for business?"
"Konatsu can manage. . ." Ukyou said. ". . . I hope."
* * * * * * *
Meanwhile at Ucchan's, a bunch of teenage boys were
idiotically munching on okonomiyaki, blissfully unaware of the
fact that they were burnt and only half the original size.
Konatsu, once again disguising his masculinity under a
scarlet kimono, was delicately re-applying his lipstick behind
the counter. "So, who wants anther *crimson attack* okonomiyaki
special?" Konatsu asked in his best sultry voice, secretly
forcing down his revulsion at the consequences.
"ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the already lipstick covered boys shouted
in union.
{Things I will do for Ukyou-sama. . .} the ninja pressed his
crimson lips together, and took up the orders. But still, he
felt proud of his ability to pay back the one who had rescued him
from those ugly, abusive stepmother and sisters. Closing his
eyes, letting Ukyou-sama's beautiful/handsome face settle firmly
into his mind, he took up the order of a beardless boy.
* * * * * * *
Walking wordlessly together back to the dojo, Ukyou noticed
Ranma looking at her strangely, and asked. "What is it,
Ran-chan?"
Ranma looked into her striking dark eyes, unable to stop
himself from voicing out his thoughts: "I guess. . . you are the
only one who really does love me, Ucchan."
Ukyou's face flushed, revealing her excitement. "Well, so
do the others . . ." She said testily to her love.
Ranma startled her by looking sad instead of embarrassed.
"One of them is obssessed with the idea of owning me. Another
one wants me so badly that she makes herself all catty. Yet
another one simply take me for granted."
"Ran-chan. . ."
Ranma gathered his strength as he turned to the one girl in
his life to whom he owe everything, yet never really able to pay
back. "Ucchan, I. . . oh God. This is hard to say."
Ukyou's excitement dropped down into a cold knot of fear.
She remembered the conversation after the wedding all too
clearly. Then she stopped walking and steered herself. "What is
it, Ran-chan?"
Ranma stopped also. He took in a deep breath, and said what
he had to. "There could never be anything aside from friendship
between us now, Ucchan."
Ukyou, even though she was half expecting this, was
traumatized when the real thing happened. Nobody could calmly
accept defeat, especially not one who had sacrificed so much to
ensure its success. "All that I've done . . . washed down the
drains . . ." she breathed out the words in a whisper as she
began backing away, her widened eyes becoming vacant.
Ranma looked worried as he stepped forward. "Ucchan-" his
sentence was cut off as Ukyou's eyes suddenly narrowed as her
hand shot out at his face.
To Ukyou, it was an automatic reflex. This man had given
her such high hopes, only to let it crash down again. Why
wouldn't she slap him?
It was in that split-second that a flash of light caught the
corner of her eye. That light seemed to have cut through the
fire blinding her, allowing the look of pain and concern on
Ranma's all-too handsome face to force itself into her mind.
Ukyou's hand stopped abruptly about an inch from his face. The
resulted air-pressure, however, still managed to toss up his
unruly bangs, which fell gently back onto his forehead, above his
now surprised looking eyes. Apparently, he was expecting the
slap to land.
Ukyou slowly turned to the direction of the light, and saw
beautiful, multi-coloured pieces of glass sparkling under the
mid-day sun, reflecting the light onto all directions. They were
parts of the gigantic glass window, splendidly made in patterns
that showed the image of Christ, flanked by angels, looking down
from above the open gates of the majestic looking cathedral on
the cross of which Ukyou had made her wish that morning. She
noticed for the first time that they had stopped right in front
of its front door.
Ukyou slowly turned back to the even more guilty looking
Ranma. She couldn't held back her tears anymore as her hand
trembled and slowly dropped. She hurt so much, yet her heart
forbid her to take it out on the man that she was destined to
love till eternity. "Why?" she sobbed.
"Because . . ." Ranma hesitated, thinking about how to
phase his upcoming sentence in a way that made sense and didn't
reveal too much. "Because . . . I guess it was because at the
beginning, I was stupid enough to think of you as a boy.
Afterwards, even after I found out the truth . . . I just . . ."
"Can't think of me as a girl?" Ukyou asked while crutching
her fists, bitterness threatening to break out in her voice.
Ranma looked guilty as he turned his face away. He didn't
answer the question. "Too many things had happened between now
and the time that we were six . . . I can't tell you what, not
yet anyway." Ranma lowered his eyes, long lashes fluttering.
"Ucchan, I owe you so much. When I meet you again, and you fell
for me. . . I didn't, I couldn't woke you up from you dream. I'm
sorry, I shouldn't have let this drag on."
Ukyou fought to control herself. She had been sacrificing
so much in hopes of winning her love. Now, she could only hope
to have the strength to keep on sacrificing in hopes of cutting
her losses and keeping her friend. Yet the bitterness within her
heart was too much for her to bear. Her righteous self was
helpless as her hand slid toward her back to unleash the giant
spatula . . .
It was then that a sudden breeze blew passed them, and
hundreds of tiny, white paper bookmarks drifted out from a stand
at the entrance of the Church's gate, showering upon them. As
some of them fell onto the ground, Ukyou could read the words on
some of those that are facing up:
Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.
----- The word of Christ
Suddenly, a set of images flashed through her mind. They
were the images of a pretty ninja boy, dressed in a waitress
outfit in hopes of tempting customers, working overtime despite
minimal pay, flashed through her mind. Konatsu had sacrificed so
much of his energy as well as dignity in his undisguised love for
Ukyou. Yet the boy had never, ever slashed out at her simply
because she couldn't reciprocal that love. Rather, he remained a
friend by her side, helping her whenever he could without ever
asking for any reward other than her happiness.
Could she not do the same for Ran-chan, who was not only her
love but also her closest friend?
Lifting up her hand to wipe off her tears, she took a couple
of deep breaths as she spoke up bravely against considerable
strain. "It. . . wasn't your fault, Ran-chan. If anything, it
was your father's . . ." a spark of hope suddenly crossed her
heart. "But you still love me though, don't you?"
Turning away, Ranma struggled with himself, then replied.
"I don't know what love is, Ucchan. I just know what it isn't."
Ukyou persisted. "Whatever had happened, I can still love
you as you are."
Ranma turned even further away. "You can, Ucchan. But it
will only cause you even more pains . . . pains that you don't
deserve."
Ukyou's heart sank even lower than before as the bitter edge
threaten to return to her voice. "Why? It is Akane, isn't it?
She is the one the that you want, is that it?"
"Ucchan. . ."
"But why?" Ukyou asked, urging him to tell her the reason
that had puzzled her for so long. If she was going to lose, at
least she wanted to know why. "You said it yourself that she
doesn't love you. Is it because you love her? Or is it just a
matter of honour? If my first guess is right, then I. . . I'll
withdrawn my hold on you. But if my SECOND guess is right. . ."
fire sparked in her furious, yet still beautiful dark eyes.
"Then there's no way on earth that I'm giving up on you! I'm the
one who formally gave your father my only livelihood as my dowry.
Akane hadn't given him hers yet!!"
"But I CAN'T be with you! Can't you see that?!" Ranma was
getting frustrated as well.
"Then you love her. . ." Ukyou's voice dropped as she
lowered her eyes.
"Actually . . . it's nothing as glorious as that . . ."
Ukyou looked up, startled and confused . "What?"
Ranma lowered his eyes. "I can allow myself to be dishonest
to her: I could never do the same to you . . . not for very long
anyway." with that, he leapt up over a rooftop and ran, leaving
the stunned Ukyou to stand on the empty street, in front of the
empty cathedral.
Ukyou bent down, and slowly picked up one of those
bookmarks. Turning it over, she took in a drawing of the Sacred
Heart. A ring of thorns, materialized from human misdeeds,
pricking into the heart, paining it. Christ had given up His
life on the cross, in an attempt to save all men from sins . . .
. . . only to find them willingly fell back to their
sinning.
The pain of the Holy Heart. . . is really the pain of a
sacrifice of blood and tears turning out to be futile.
She had learned that Christ had bore that pain with love . .
. as per His duty as the Saviour of the world.
Could Kuonji Ukyou bear the same kind of pain . . . as per
her duty as the best friend of Ran-chan?
He is the son of God, and she only a teenage girl. . .
But her pain was so much lighter . . .
Slipping the bookmark into her shirt pocket, she staggered
back to her store with a troubled heart hounded by pain and
uncertainty.
* * * * * * *
Ranma got back to the Dojo, the refuge that kept him from
the horrors of the past. Sighing, he slowly walked upstairs back
to his room. {This is for the best.} He told himself. {Ucchan
will be able to find a truly worthy person to care for. And I. .
.}
"Saotome-kun, judging from the way things are going, I can't
see our children getting married in the near future." Soun's
worried voice could be heard from the dinning room.
"How is that, Tendo-kun?" His father's voice sounded casual
and disinterested.
Soun's voice seemed to have an edge to it. "Saotome-kun, I
mean, open your eyes and look around! Ranma is still being
indecisive in his choice of fiancees, even after a whole year.
And from the way that Ukyou you engaged him to keep coming after
him, I doubt if he could resist her for very long."
The casual laughter of Genma could be heard. "Now, now,
Tendo-kun. You are worrying yourself over nothing. After all,
we both know that he can't escape from his duties."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. Using his martial arts skill,
Ranma slowly tiptoed back down the stairs soundlessly.
"Don't be so sure, Saotome-kun. You son is growing up fast,
his martial arts techniques strengthening by days. Once he got
onto his own feet he might fly away from this place like a young
bird from its mother's nest: never to return."
Genma snorted. "Got onto his own feet? Now THAT'S a laugh,
Tendo. Still remember WHY did we allow ourselves to become
Happosai's students? It wasn't like we weren't both already
skilled martial artists, even though we were only teenagers at
the time . . ."
Soun's voice visibly dimmed. "Saotome-kun, it was the will
of our parents, a matter of . . . honour."
"Oh, quit covering up your sentence with such modesty,
Tendo-kun. They SOLD us, in return for some of the Master's
ancient treasures, get it?"
"Saotome-kun!"
Genma continued on, not hearing him. "And you know why I
didn't refuse to be sold to Happosai? It was because I didn't
know how else I could have survived otherwise . . . if I wasn't
mistaken, that was you reason too, wasn't it, Tendo?"
Soun remained silent.
"Now back to my son. We both knew his inadequacy in
everything aside from martial arts. He hadn't even been in
school until junior high, and he don't socialize well with
others. He could never get a high enough mark to enter college
and get real jobs. Other dojos will have their own heirs: so
that option is out. His future, like ours used to be, had
already been set."
Ranma's heart froze.
Soun finally spoke up. "But what about that Kuonji girl?
What if she had decided to support him?"
"Tendo, Tendo. You don't think I haven't though of that,
have you? If he even dare to be more than friends with Ukyou,
I'd tell her his one great secret. Once she found out, she'd
dump him like a rock for sure." Genma finished with
satisfaction.
"Saotome-kun, that was . . ."
"Cold? I don't think so. Why, my parents simply left me as
a slave to Happosai when I was Ranma's age. I . . . I have at
least ensured him a dojo and your lovely daughter. I've outdone
myself. . . really I have. . ." the last few words was said
quietly to himself.
"Actually, you are right, Saotome-kun. We have BOTH outdone
ourselves in rasing our children." Soun convinced himself.
"Always giving and giving . . ."
"Talk about giving . . ." Genma suddenly switched the
subject. "Tendo-kun, about that financial problem that you have
mentioned the other day . . ."
"What about it, Saotome-kun?" Soun's voice sounded hopeful.
"You are finally going to get a real job to lift a load off my
shoulder? That's my friend."
"Be serious, Tendo-kun. How much cash can an old man like
me pull in? It's my boy that I'm talking about."
"Ranma? But didn't you just said . . ."
"I said he couldn't stand up on his own feet, but that
doesn't mean that he can't make money with MY guidance . . ."
"Huh?"
Genma lowered his voice. "Between my son's curse, the
enormous Kuno fortune, and Tatewaki's thick skull, bringing in
money isn't even a problem."
Outside, Ranma breathed in sharply as his eyes widened in
either shock or anger or both.
Soun actually seemed to consider it. "But how far will the
*pigtailed girl* be willing to go to accomplish this task
though?"
"Leave that to me, old friend. Leave that to me. When
Ranma is through with that boy, we could have afforded immediate
weddings for Akane as well as Kasumi and Nabiki."
"Saotome-kun! What will I ever do without you?" Soun asked
with gratitude as Ranma tiptoed away soundlessly, his eyes so
still that they look lifeless. He went back into his room,
closed the door, and slumped down against it like a lose-jointed
marionette. A song leaked out of the stereo in Nabiki's room,
permeating the atmosphere around him.
*If I ran away,
I never have the strength
To go very far~.*
Couching in a lump behind the door, Ranma's eyes, unlike his
mind, remained to be still. Slowly though, tears began to flow
down his expressionless face. Normally, he would be disgusted
with himself for being unmanly, for dishonouring his clan with
this act of weakness.
But he didn't care about honour. . . about anything . . .
anymore. People always say that words can break just as good as
stones and sticks, he could see why that was now.
Was this his fate? To be put down, and berated, and used,
and exploited over and over? To pay back debts he didn't know he
had owe to all those around him till eternity? To have every
future shut off from him by his own father?
*How could they hear
The beating of my heart~.*
Standing up slowly, Ranma walked over to his backpack. He
checked his money (or what he has of it), first aid, change of
clothes, etc. Finally, he took out a flat, black box from it's
hiding place, and opened it for the first time in years.
Inside, was a set of neatly folded black Japanese robes, the
type usually worn by samurai. . . or executioners.
After staying over at the Tendos, the old days had became
nothing more significant than nightmares. Genma seemed to have
improved from being malicious into simply being irresponsible.
It was enough for Ranma: he could accept such a man as a
father-figure.
As long as the man accepts him as something like a son.
*Where will they go,
The secrets that I hide,
Where I grow old?*
Thinking about the past year, Ranma almost laughed at
himself. He was so damn GRATEFUL when Pop told him that he
didn't have to go on like that anymore. For once his father will
be leeching off someone else instead of him. He actually thought
that he could get a new life by submitting to this engagement!
And he thought he had gotten smarter.
Picking up the dark fabric, he neatly folded the robes back
into the box. Putting the box into his backpack, Ranma sprang
out the open window like a phoenix from its nest. Remnants of
the song kept on ringing in his mind.
*How will they hear?*
He leapt aimlessly, from one rooftop to the other, trying to
clear all thoughts. He wanted to scream, to tell everybody who
would listen about all that he had been through. But he
couldn't.
*When will they learn?*
Because he knew too well that people would only saw it as
HIS own dishonour. They would do nothing but point fingers . . .
*How will they. . . know ~ ?*
. . . and laugh.
Just when he thought he would have been eaten alive by his
own frustrations, something familiar and tiny at the same time
intercepted him.
"My darling Ranma-chan! It has been so long~" a bucket of
cold water was thrown onto Ranma, quickly followed by a
disgusting old lech. "Oh, what bliss it is to feel your bosoms
again!"
Ranma-chan stopped in her tracks, and smiled at the promised
relieve of anger that the wrinkled midget could offer.
"Eh?" Happosai, who was still hugging her breasts, was
startled to find no attacks from his student.
Gently prying the old man off her, Ranma-chan bowed, and
rapidly skipped away. Not willing to lose his prey so easily,
Happosai gave chase. After a while, it seemed that he had lost
her. Sighing sadly, the over-aged pervert was just about to went
home when a voice called out to him from above.
"Master. . ."
Happosai looked up, and saw Ranma-chan sitting cross-legged
on the edge of a particularly high rooftop, leaning seductively
against her backpack. Her red locks were untied, flowing in the
wind like a burning flame around her smiling face. The Chinese
pants were gone, leaving her shapely legs bare from under the red
Chinese shirt. "Wanna play?" she purred, eyes narrowing in a
smile.
The wrinkled ball of meat was excited beyond believe.
Finally his favourite student has realized the futility of her
struggles and decided to give in willingly! He launched himself
at her, but she grabbed her backpack and leaped away at the last
minute. Landing lightly on the opposite rooftop, she called out
flirtatiously. "Over here, Master!"
Happosai leapt after her, determined to do some serious
groping on that red embodiment of temptation. In his heat and
passion, his guard slowly slipped away. In his focus on those
flawless long legs, he couldn't see the eerie light in
Ranma-chan's wide eyes, nor where she was leading him.
* * * * * * *
The evening was approaching. The sunset casted a red glow
over the lone figure sitting by the small fire that he set up
under the bridge. Tent components were lying around the glass in
a mess. A big bowl of water was suspended above the fire, into
which other ingredients would be added to turn it to soup once it
was hot enough. His head was lowered like a defeated man,
causing his thick bangs to cover his upper profile.
"Thanks, Ryoga, for showing me how wrong I was about you. .
. about us." Ranma's voice rang in his head.
Finally, his depression and bad temper had driven away his
past companion. His only companion. The only one who could
tolerate his violent outbursts and survive his punches. The
already cold and lonely world had froze over for him.
Hatre is the result of not being able to forget, and not
being able to forget is the result of denying an undeniable past.
Such was the case of his feelings towards Ranma.
He hated Ranma for being a better fighter than him. He
hated Ranma for leaving him. He hated Ranma for the feelings
that he aroused in him.
And he hated himself for using the affection of the
innocent, unsuspecting Akane as a mean to get back at Ranma.
The girl was the centre of Ranma's new life: by taking her
away form him, Ryoga thought that Ranma's world will became empty
and meaningless once more . . . just like his own. And so,
nervous and jittery as he was around girls, Ryoga had set out to
steal the Tendo girl's heart away from Ranma . . .
. . . and had his own heart unknowingly stolen by Akane
instead.
She was so . . . angelic to his eyes, always showing him the
kindness that she would seldom show to Ranma. What was merely an
act of revenge had turned into a sincere pursuit . . . of someone
who didn't even know of his love for her. He who had planned to
destroy Ranma had almost destroyed himself instead.
Yet he kept on trying to destroy Ranma's happiness, and had
kept on pursuing Akane even after sweet, gentle Akari had came
into the scene. When Ranma was getting closer to Akane, Ryoga
would still try to beat him up for 'tainting' her; and when
Ranma was turning away from Akane, Ryoga would still try to beat
him up for hurting her. He just COULDN'T allow himself to let up
on him . . .
. . .him who had changed his life since that day . . .
########################## FLASHBACK ############################
On a cloudy day, two boys in junior high uniforms were
standing opposite to each other in a vacant lot. Several lengths
of extra large pipes were placed horizontally on one side of the
lot, creating a background for the two. Distant thunders could
be heard, dramatizing the scene.
"Now we shall fight, man to man." the one with short hair
growled.
The boy standing in front of him, with his hair tied into a
ponytail, simply looked amused. "Wow, you are surely taking
things far, Mr. Take My Bread And Die." He taunted.
"Shut up, Saotome! None shall cross Hibiki Ryoga and live!"
With that he launched himself at his opponent. While Ranma
appeared to be much more agile, Ryoga was clearly stronger. {Not
bad, not bad at all.} they thought in mutual admiration. The
fight continued on, until rain stared pouring upon them. Just
when Ryoga was considering about how much of a disadvantage will
he have fighting in the rain, Ranma had already crawled into one
of the large pipes.
"Come back out and fight, coward!" Ryoga was outraged.
"Just shut up and come inside before you get soaking wet,
baka." Ranma said in a bored voice.
Sensing the thickening rain, Ryoga grudging got into the
pipe with him. He sat tensely as Ranma pulled off the string
tying his wet ponytail, letting his wet hair flow down his back
as he comb through them with his fingers. Stray locks of long
hair beside his unruly short bangs was glued to his face like
twisting snakes suspended in motion. Ryoga stared . . . and
continued to stare, unable to remove his eyes from those locks,
until those dark eyes looked sideways, meeting his . . .
#################################################################
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Shocked out of his memory, he turned to the source of the
hideous wail, and saw Happosai being stuck between two
uninsulated, high voltage wires in midair. With the current
going thought the old man's body, it was almost a miracle that he
could still scream. Immediately picking up a rock, Ryoga threw
it with his inhuman strength at the midget, pushing him off the
wires. The charred meatball dropped down to the grass.
Ryoga was about to went up to the possibly late ancient
master when the feeling of someone behind him made him turn back.
Ranma-chan, her flaming red hair flowing freely across her
face in crimson strands, was staring coldly at him. For some
reason, her Chinese pants weren't there to cover the long legs
under the long Chinese shirt.
Ryoga was at a loss for words. After what had happened
today, what could he say? So he simply stood there stupidly as
Ranma-chan began to silently walk over to him. Her eyes were so
cold that the boy involuntarily stepped back.
"What are you, some kind of nemesis of mine to torment me to
eternity?" she asked, her eyes freezing him in place. "Just give
me another minute, no, another 30 seconds, and the old freak
would never be able to lay another finger on me or anyone again."
Ranma-chan pointed to the spot where Happosai had fallen: the
pervert was nowhere to be seen. She turned back to Ryoga, almost
hissing. "Why must you keep on screwing up my plans, when I have
already cut all ties with you?"
"Ranma. . . I" Ryoga squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke up
with considerable difficulty. "Listen, I just want to say. . .
that I. . . Ranma!?" Realizing that Ranma-chan was already
walking away as he opened his eyes, Ryoga ran after her.
"Wait!!"
Ranma-chan stopped abruptly, and Ryoga almost bumped into
her. Several long seconds passed away and Ranma-chan still
didn't turn back. Ryoga decided to forced out his words before
all was lost.
"I. . . I'm sorry. . . for everything, okay?! There, I said
it."
Ranma-chan turned over her head to look sideways at Ryoga,
strands of bright red fluttering across her neutral face. "Sorry
doesn't mean anything."
"Then what do you want from me?!" Ryoga yelled in his
frustration.
Looking back at this boy who had given her wounds inside and
out, Ranma-chan's eyes suddenly flashed with an eerie but
enticing light that cooled down Ryoga's heat immediately.
Clamping both of her small hands onto Ryoga's shoulder, she
pulled the boy toward her until their faces were only inches away
from each other. Ranma-chan's red hair was tossed against his
face by the wind, stroking a fire that was never meant to be.
Ryoga could even felt the heartbeat behind her ample bosom as she
pressed herself against his chest.
Ryoga's expression was one of surprise. "Ran. . . Ranma. .
."
Ranma-chan leaned forward, her eyes obscured by her flowing
long hair. As she opened her delicate lips, Ryoga could feel her
soft breath blushing against his throat. "Stay. Still." She
commanded in a soft but husky voice. Ryoga obeyed. His
breathing quickened as Ranma-chan's breath trailed downwards.
Nobody else, not even Akari, had given him the strange sensations
that he was experiencing now. Memories and images flashed before
his mind in a frenzy. . .
. . . and choosing that unexpected moment, Ranma-chan bit
down into the flesh between his neck and left shoulder. It
wasn't just a normal bite. Rather, it was THE BITE, with a year
of piled up frustrations fuelling its strength. She was
relentless in her strength, and the skin of the lost boy gave way
immediately as blood gushed out in tiny fountains.
Ryoga gasped as his head flew up in pain. Every sense in
his body screamed at him to push this ferocious mad woman away.
But with his inhuman physical endurance, he stayed still, knowing
that he had to pay back what he owe. He looked up the sky, where
the blood red was rapidly fading into darkness. Finally, his
knees buckled and he fell onto the glass. The last sight that
greeted him before unconciousness was Ranma-chan staring down at
him, her red hair, red Chinese shirt and her now blood red lips
contrasting her pale skin in a most dramatic way . . .
########################## FLASHBACK ############################
In the springtime of Japan, the sakura trees in a certain
park are showering pieces after pieces of pink petals onto the
ground. Amidst the fluttering pinkness were two boys that are
fighting with incredible speed and strength. Eventually, both
fell to the petal covered ground in exhaustion.
"THAT was some workout." Ranma breathed out.
"Feeling tired so soon?" Ryoga taunted as he tried catching
his breath.
"As if you weren't." Ranma hmphed. "You've received even
more hits then I!"
Ryoga snorted. "I suppose that would have mattered if your
punches aren't so damn weak! I can't believe it, you have all
this speed, and yet not an ounce of strength. No wonder that I
could wrestle you to the ground that easily all the time."
"Heh. . . you didn't exactly do much damage to me all those
times either, did you?"
"That was only because. . ." Ryoga couldn't continue his
sentence as his thoughts were drawn to something else entirely.
"Ryoga, I've know you for quite a while now. Yet I've never
seen your parents." Ranma, with his arms outstretched and his
head thrown back, slowly sat up from the sea of pink using only
the strength of his waist. "Where are they?"
Ryoga looked away from him to gather the words for his
sentence. "They are kind of like me. . . always lost. Somehow
both sides of my family are no good with directions." Ryoga
said, getting moody as well. "It is so frustrating. My parents
are loving, caring and all that. But what good is that when they
are always lost and away? It's like they don't exist in my life
at all!"
"What would I give to have parents like yours. . ." Ranma
muttered as he flexed his arms. "But anyway, does that mean that
you have nothing to hold onto in this place?"
"Well. . . nothing much."
Light sparkled in Ranma's eyes. "Ryoga, since neither of us
has anything going on in here, what do you say if the two of us
just left this place and start anew somewhere else? This will
probably be the most exciting training trip we have yet to date."
Ryoga looked confused "Eh? But why can't we just stay
here?"
Ranma sighed. "You can. . . but I can't. You know how I've
skipped school for two weeks already?"
Ryoga rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well,
actually, I wasn't there either. I kinda got lost. . ."
Ranma looked bored. "If only you'd look outwards instead of
in to see where you're going for once. . ."
Ryoga glared at him. Ranma smiled playfully and threw a
handful of pink petals over Ryoga.
"Anyway, the reason that I was away was that someone here
was after me, Ryoga. I have been hiding from him all this time."
"Who is that guy? Someone else that you have pissed off
like you did me?" Ryoga asked, jokingly. Ranma's eyes lowered
and Ryoga began to look concern. "Ranma?"
Ranma frowned as he looked up at his innocent face. "Can't
tell you yet. You probably won't understand until years from
now."
"Hey, you're talking to me like I'm a kid or something."
Ryoga looked pissed. Ranma laughed as he flicked off a piece of
sakura petal on the lost boy's nose ridge. "I've been through
WAY more than you, Ryoga. You are a kid compared to me."
Ryoga suddenly leapt up from his lying position and came
back down to push the more slender boy back down onto the sea of
pinkness. "How's this for a kid?" he said while pinning Ranma
underneath him.
Ranma looked into his eyes with sudden seriousness. "Well,
Mr. Adult, answer my previous question: will you go with me?"
Ryoga signed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, all
right! I'll go. It doesn't matter that much to me anyway.
After all, I always ended up travelling even when I didn't want
to. It would be nice to have a guide for a change."
Ranma looked slightly troubled as his expression darkened.
"That guy will still be after me, Ryoga, and that could be
trouble. Will you. . . stick by my side no matter what will
happen?"
Ryoga's boyish face looked sincere. "I promise."
Ranma's smile returned as a strong breeze blew by, almost
burying the two under an infinite sea of pink.
#################################################################
Drifting in and out of a seemingly endless dream of red sky,
red hair, red Chinese Shirt, and red lips, Ryoga felt strangely
relaxed. In fact, it was almost as if he was lying on the soft
bed at his home that he had missed so. But even in his state of
half consciousness, he knew that he couldn't have made it back
home on his own, especially not after Ranma had-
Ranma?!
He panicked as the events that led to his unconciousness
rushed back into his mind. With an immense effort, he opened his
eyes, and found out what he couldn't believe.
He was at home, lying on his own bed. The wound between his
neck and shoulder was now covered by layers of bandage. He sat
up disbelievingly.
Ranma-chan? She saved him even after all that? Ryoga
frantically looked around the room.
But she wasn't there.
As his eyes passed his desk, a piece of paper caught his
attention. Ryoga immediately walked over and picked it up. His
eyes widened as he saw the words written on it. After reading it
over twice just to be sure, the paper slipped from his fingers.
That's not how it's supposed to be.
Hardening his eyes, he decided that for once he won't stay
passive and let things take their toll. He had to do something.
#################################################################