Ranma 1/2 is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. Any other rights I left out also apply.
A video trailer of this story can be found at
http://www.goecities.com/thewingedelf/NiEtrailerzipped.zip
Nothing is Easy
By Halen Rains
Preface
* I am so tired of this.*
Ranma peeled himself off the ground and looked after Akane as she stormed
away from him on her way to school. He flipped to his feet and dusted himself off,
looking around to see if anyone had noticed. *Noone...* He let out a sigh and began
jogging down the street in the direction Akane had gone.
"My job never gets any easier." Atop a light pole directly across the street from
where the fight between Ranma and Akane had occurred a man who looked to be in his
mis twenties appeared, sitting with his legs crossed and his hands jammed into his
pockets. He was dressed in a dark blue trench coat over a white shirt and vest with golden
edging and wore well cut white dress pants. His eyes shined a brilliant silver that matched a
single stud earring in his left ear. Long silver hair hung down to his ankles and swayed gently in
the wind. He shook his head the allowed himself to fall from the light pole.
A moment before he touched the sidewalk a brilliant flash of light flowed from
his eyes and he was gone. In the flash only a large pair of pure white wings flashed in the
glass of a small store that sat across the street.
Akane sat down at her desk and waited for class to begin. She had calmed down
since leaving Ranma twitching on the sidewalk. She didn't like doing that to him, but
sometimes he could make her so angry. *Sometimes? More like all the time.* She shook her
head and flipped open her notebook.
"Tendo Akane." Akane's teacher's voice pulled her attention back to school and
Akane looked up with a questioning look on her face. "Is Saotome going to be here
today, or do I need to mark him down as absent?"
Akane shrugged then looked back to her notebook. She drew small pictures of
herself malleting Ranma and Kuno, and some of P-chan malleting Ranma and Kuno. She
didn't even notice when the teacher started class until the classroom door opened and
Ranma stepped in.
"Nice of you to join us Saotome." The teacher said adjusting her glasses. "Now if
you would please." She was cut off when Ranma held up his hand and lifted two large buckets
of water from beside the door and stepped outside.
Akane turned to a new page in her notebook and began taking notes as the teacher
spoke.
In the hallway Ranma leaned against the wall and shifted his grip on the buckets.
"Ranma no Baka...Ranma you hentai...Ranma Ranma Ranma." Ranma became
more and more annoyed as mumbled to himself. "It's always the bad, never Ranma,
thanks for saving me from all those kidnappers. No that would be to much. Never
Ranma, thanks for saving me at Jusendo. Oh hell no!" He had become so shook up as he
spoke that water began to slosh from the buckets. "She's always gotta jump onto me for
every little thing then hit me with that damn mallet. Why can't she just let me explain
and tell her I..." Ranma froze suddenly, a very confused look on his face. Where did
all that come from? He thought for a second then began to smile. "It's always Akane you
kawiikune. Akane you tomboy..." He sighed and settled himself back against the wall. "I
don't really give her a reason to listen...do I?" His smile slipped away into a depressed
look and he slumped down. "Do I?"
*Not really.* The man from the street leaned against the wall opposite Ranma. His
hands jammed into his pockets and his feet crossed. He looked from Ranma to the
ceiling then back to Ranma. He scratched his head and began to laugh.* One day...*
Ranma looked up from the floor and out of the window across the hall from him.
It was a bright sunny morning outside. Suddenly his thoughts turned to that time when
he'd first started going here that Akane had hit him in the face with a softball. *Why do
they call em softballs anyway? Sure as hell ain't soft.*
The man across the hallway from Ranma face faulted and stood staring for a
second then burst into laughter at Ranma's thought. He had to brush a long strand of
silver hair from his face when he finished laughing. *This kid never ceases to amaze me.*
Suddenly he felt something nearby looked around suspiciously. *Found me has they?* He
vanished from the hallway.
Ranma remained there trying to figure out the origin of softballs until his teacher
opened the door and motioned for him to reenter. He sat the buckets down and walked to
his seat.
He noticed that Akane looked up at him as he walked past. Her expression had
looked upset over something and Ranma's stomach twisted. *I hate it when she's like that.*
Ranma hung his head then let out another sigh.
On the roof of the highschool a tall beautiful redhead stood surrounded by singing
birds. She was dressed in a tight black dress that came midway down her thigh. Her
impossibly red hair hung lower than the dress and tossed gently in the wind.
"How long has it been Lailos?"
The redhead didn't look behind her to the source of the voice. A playful smile
crept onto her face and she ran a hand through her hair.
"One millennia seven centuries nine decades six years five months two days."
She turned and looked him from head to toe. "Far to long, Rhye."
Rhye smiled and nodded.
"That it has. I must admit that I had hoped for a little more time, but this is still a
pleasant surprise." Rhye spoke in a serious tone. "I must admit, I had expected Max Ren
to send Erock to try and collect me. Since when is a love goddess sent to find a wayward
angel?"
Lailos looked hurt at his words then nodded, her appearance becoming more
business like.
"I came to warn you, the council is growing quite displeased with their general's
extended leave." She turned her attention back to the small sparrow that sat on her index
finger. "Mostly though I wanted to see you. Things have become such a dreadful
bore...I miss you." She smiled at him then frowned when he seemed not to notice.
Rhye walked to stand at the roof's edge and looked out into the courtyard. He
crossed his arms behind his back and let out a laugh.
"They have no need of a general. There hasn't been a war in heaven since the
time of chaos. What I do is no interest of theirs, tell them to go back to their games and
leave me be. I have earned my freedom."
"Rhye!" Lailos's voice held a tone of outraged terror and she rushed to his side
and grabbed onto him. "Please. Come back with me. Don't remember all the fun we had
in the beginning?"
Rhye didn't shift his look to her, but seemed to grow more distant.
"I remember and I am thankful for the time we spent together. Without it I
might have... I might have lost myself." Rhye turned to face her and took her shoulders
in his hands. "But I can never go back to that. I have a new purpose now."
Lailos looked at her feet and shook her head. After a few seconds she looked back
up at him and smiled.
"I will tell them that you will not be returning." Lailos let out a breath and
looked at the ground again. "Rhye... you know how much I care for you. I'm so sorry for
what happened. Please forgive me."
Rhye pulled her into his arms and held her against himself. She pressed his cheek
against her forehead.
"I could never hate you. You knew that then." He whispered softly to her and ran
a hand through her hair.
Lailos pulled away from him slightly and smiled up at him, tears in the corners of
her eyes. She leaned closer to him, closing her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him.
Rhye could feel her breath on his face and leaned closer to her. When their faces
were almost touching he shifted and pulled her against him and placed his face on her
shoulder. He could feel her tense at the sudden change. After a second he pulled away
from her and held her chin gently with his hand and looked into her sad eyes.
"But you must always remain my beautiful little goddess..." He released her and
turned away. His eyes clenched closed and his breathing heavy he struggled to continue.
"And it will never be allowed." His voice held it's most serious tone despite him.
Lailos looked at him wide eyed then turned and ran a few steps the stopped.
"I don't care." Her voice was shaking and weak, but she forced herself to turn
back and take one last look at him. She turned and before her foot touched the ground she
vanished.
Rhye kept his back to her and watched as cars drove along the street outside the
school. After a few moments, he managed to recover control of himself and turned to
look at her. He looked at his hands sadly then up to the sky above.
"I'm sorry."
Ranma sat in a tree eating the lunch Kasumi had prepared for him. He ate slowly
for once, lost in thought.
Akane, Look I'm sorry about this morning."No that's to..." I want to say that I'm
sorry for what I said this morning. He rambled off different idea's for how to apologize
to Akane as he ate, not noticing where Rhye sat in tree just above him shaking his head in
annoyance.
Akane walked to the tree where Ranma sat and looked up at him. She noticed his
distant look and leaned against the tree. She looked out at where all the students went on
with there normal lives and felt a slight tug in her chest. She had thought that Ranma had
gotten over his rudeness after Jusendo and the failed wedding. He had been much better
at keeping his foot out of his mouth until this morning. He had been saying something,
she hadn't been paying attention, and suddenly she slipped and he caught her. For a
second she could have sworn he was going to kiss her, she had seen a frightened look in
his eyes. Then out of nowhere he managed to consume his entire leg.
Akane let out a sigh and shook her head. She had been hoping so much that they
were past this. She wasn't only angry at Ranma, but mad at herself for how she'd
responded and smashed him into the sidewalk.
Rhye listened to the two's thoughts as he nibbled slowly at a strangely yellow
apple. He still looked quite annoyed at them, but was more stirred up over his own
encounter. He found it harder and harder to keep his mind focused on the two and
actually didn't notice when Ranma dropped down from the tree.
Without a sound Ranma landed on the opposite side of the tree and pressed his
back against it. He had failed to notice Akane somehow, still lost in thought over how to
break the silence between them. He didn't want to start back down this road with her
again. This morning had been a slip up, he'd felt that same old twist in his stomach when
he caught her and looked into her eyes. Something had been pulling there faces together,
but his fear suddenly gripped him and he back peddled spitting out the first thing that
came to mind.
"Why can't I just say what I want? Everything...everything always comes out
wrong." Ranma banded the back of his head against the tree then closed his eyes. He
didn't notice Akane's head snap up when he spoke and turn to listen to him. "I'm just not
ready."
Up in the tree above them Rhye looked down and almost fell out of tree at what
he found occurring right beneath his nose. He allowed himself to tumble down the tree to
the lowest branches and hung upside down.
Ranma opened his eyes and looked up into the tree directly where Rhye hung and
let out a long sigh.
"What can I do? She's the most important person in my life, and all I can do is
piss her off or make her cry." He let his thoughts run over the last year and a half he'd
lived with the Tendo's and laughed. "I wasn't trained for this." His voice had grown very
distant, he ran his hands through his hair then let them cover his face.
Akane pressed herself against the tree and listened as Ranma battled with himself.
He can't be talking about...?
He over to where a boy and girl sat on a set of stairs looking at each other
lovingly. It was a sight that would have made him gag not to long ago, but now it made
him feel a hollow spot in his chest.
"I didn't grow up like she did." He reached into the tree above and plucked a
leaf from the branch where Rhye hung. He began playing with it, folding it into a small
square. "I don't know how to just up and tell Akane I..." Ranma caught on the words and
angrily tossed the leaf away. "I can't even say that shit to myself."
Rhye held out his hands and started strangling Ranma then leaned back and let
himself hang freely, arms straight down. *So damn close.*
Akane stepped back from the tree, a slightly hurt look on her face. She turned to
walk away and slammed into Hiroshi who stood watching girls with Daisuke.
"Sup Akane?" Hiroshi said twisting to look at her. His voice carried to where
Ranma leaned against the tree and caused him to turn and look at them. Akane forced her
way past them and raced off into the crowd of students.
She wasn't listening to me? Oh shit! Ranma ran after her but got stopped by his
two friends.
"Man, Ranma, what's the deal with you fianc‚ today?" Daisuke said not looking
away from the girls in the crowd.
Ranma watched Akane vanish into the crowd then slumped down shacking his
head. Damn it!
Rhye hung from the branch watching Ranma give up the chase and cursed under
his breath.
*Well, I better go collect her.* Rhye dropped from the tree and landed lightly on his
feet. After taking a second to adjust his jacket he started walking after Akane.
A video trailer of this story can be found at
http://www.goecities.com/thewingedelf/NiEtrailerzipped.zip
Nothing is Easy
By Halen Rains
Preface
* I am so tired of this.*
Ranma peeled himself off the ground and looked after Akane as she stormed
away from him on her way to school. He flipped to his feet and dusted himself off,
looking around to see if anyone had noticed. *Noone...* He let out a sigh and began
jogging down the street in the direction Akane had gone.
"My job never gets any easier." Atop a light pole directly across the street from
where the fight between Ranma and Akane had occurred a man who looked to be in his
mis twenties appeared, sitting with his legs crossed and his hands jammed into his
pockets. He was dressed in a dark blue trench coat over a white shirt and vest with golden
edging and wore well cut white dress pants. His eyes shined a brilliant silver that matched a
single stud earring in his left ear. Long silver hair hung down to his ankles and swayed gently in
the wind. He shook his head the allowed himself to fall from the light pole.
A moment before he touched the sidewalk a brilliant flash of light flowed from
his eyes and he was gone. In the flash only a large pair of pure white wings flashed in the
glass of a small store that sat across the street.
Akane sat down at her desk and waited for class to begin. She had calmed down
since leaving Ranma twitching on the sidewalk. She didn't like doing that to him, but
sometimes he could make her so angry. *Sometimes? More like all the time.* She shook her
head and flipped open her notebook.
"Tendo Akane." Akane's teacher's voice pulled her attention back to school and
Akane looked up with a questioning look on her face. "Is Saotome going to be here
today, or do I need to mark him down as absent?"
Akane shrugged then looked back to her notebook. She drew small pictures of
herself malleting Ranma and Kuno, and some of P-chan malleting Ranma and Kuno. She
didn't even notice when the teacher started class until the classroom door opened and
Ranma stepped in.
"Nice of you to join us Saotome." The teacher said adjusting her glasses. "Now if
you would please." She was cut off when Ranma held up his hand and lifted two large buckets
of water from beside the door and stepped outside.
Akane turned to a new page in her notebook and began taking notes as the teacher
spoke.
In the hallway Ranma leaned against the wall and shifted his grip on the buckets.
"Ranma no Baka...Ranma you hentai...Ranma Ranma Ranma." Ranma became
more and more annoyed as mumbled to himself. "It's always the bad, never Ranma,
thanks for saving me from all those kidnappers. No that would be to much. Never
Ranma, thanks for saving me at Jusendo. Oh hell no!" He had become so shook up as he
spoke that water began to slosh from the buckets. "She's always gotta jump onto me for
every little thing then hit me with that damn mallet. Why can't she just let me explain
and tell her I..." Ranma froze suddenly, a very confused look on his face. Where did
all that come from? He thought for a second then began to smile. "It's always Akane you
kawiikune. Akane you tomboy..." He sighed and settled himself back against the wall. "I
don't really give her a reason to listen...do I?" His smile slipped away into a depressed
look and he slumped down. "Do I?"
*Not really.* The man from the street leaned against the wall opposite Ranma. His
hands jammed into his pockets and his feet crossed. He looked from Ranma to the
ceiling then back to Ranma. He scratched his head and began to laugh.* One day...*
Ranma looked up from the floor and out of the window across the hall from him.
It was a bright sunny morning outside. Suddenly his thoughts turned to that time when
he'd first started going here that Akane had hit him in the face with a softball. *Why do
they call em softballs anyway? Sure as hell ain't soft.*
The man across the hallway from Ranma face faulted and stood staring for a
second then burst into laughter at Ranma's thought. He had to brush a long strand of
silver hair from his face when he finished laughing. *This kid never ceases to amaze me.*
Suddenly he felt something nearby looked around suspiciously. *Found me has they?* He
vanished from the hallway.
Ranma remained there trying to figure out the origin of softballs until his teacher
opened the door and motioned for him to reenter. He sat the buckets down and walked to
his seat.
He noticed that Akane looked up at him as he walked past. Her expression had
looked upset over something and Ranma's stomach twisted. *I hate it when she's like that.*
Ranma hung his head then let out another sigh.
On the roof of the highschool a tall beautiful redhead stood surrounded by singing
birds. She was dressed in a tight black dress that came midway down her thigh. Her
impossibly red hair hung lower than the dress and tossed gently in the wind.
"How long has it been Lailos?"
The redhead didn't look behind her to the source of the voice. A playful smile
crept onto her face and she ran a hand through her hair.
"One millennia seven centuries nine decades six years five months two days."
She turned and looked him from head to toe. "Far to long, Rhye."
Rhye smiled and nodded.
"That it has. I must admit that I had hoped for a little more time, but this is still a
pleasant surprise." Rhye spoke in a serious tone. "I must admit, I had expected Max Ren
to send Erock to try and collect me. Since when is a love goddess sent to find a wayward
angel?"
Lailos looked hurt at his words then nodded, her appearance becoming more
business like.
"I came to warn you, the council is growing quite displeased with their general's
extended leave." She turned her attention back to the small sparrow that sat on her index
finger. "Mostly though I wanted to see you. Things have become such a dreadful
bore...I miss you." She smiled at him then frowned when he seemed not to notice.
Rhye walked to stand at the roof's edge and looked out into the courtyard. He
crossed his arms behind his back and let out a laugh.
"They have no need of a general. There hasn't been a war in heaven since the
time of chaos. What I do is no interest of theirs, tell them to go back to their games and
leave me be. I have earned my freedom."
"Rhye!" Lailos's voice held a tone of outraged terror and she rushed to his side
and grabbed onto him. "Please. Come back with me. Don't remember all the fun we had
in the beginning?"
Rhye didn't shift his look to her, but seemed to grow more distant.
"I remember and I am thankful for the time we spent together. Without it I
might have... I might have lost myself." Rhye turned to face her and took her shoulders
in his hands. "But I can never go back to that. I have a new purpose now."
Lailos looked at her feet and shook her head. After a few seconds she looked back
up at him and smiled.
"I will tell them that you will not be returning." Lailos let out a breath and
looked at the ground again. "Rhye... you know how much I care for you. I'm so sorry for
what happened. Please forgive me."
Rhye pulled her into his arms and held her against himself. She pressed his cheek
against her forehead.
"I could never hate you. You knew that then." He whispered softly to her and ran
a hand through her hair.
Lailos pulled away from him slightly and smiled up at him, tears in the corners of
her eyes. She leaned closer to him, closing her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him.
Rhye could feel her breath on his face and leaned closer to her. When their faces
were almost touching he shifted and pulled her against him and placed his face on her
shoulder. He could feel her tense at the sudden change. After a second he pulled away
from her and held her chin gently with his hand and looked into her sad eyes.
"But you must always remain my beautiful little goddess..." He released her and
turned away. His eyes clenched closed and his breathing heavy he struggled to continue.
"And it will never be allowed." His voice held it's most serious tone despite him.
Lailos looked at him wide eyed then turned and ran a few steps the stopped.
"I don't care." Her voice was shaking and weak, but she forced herself to turn
back and take one last look at him. She turned and before her foot touched the ground she
vanished.
Rhye kept his back to her and watched as cars drove along the street outside the
school. After a few moments, he managed to recover control of himself and turned to
look at her. He looked at his hands sadly then up to the sky above.
"I'm sorry."
Ranma sat in a tree eating the lunch Kasumi had prepared for him. He ate slowly
for once, lost in thought.
Akane, Look I'm sorry about this morning."No that's to..." I want to say that I'm
sorry for what I said this morning. He rambled off different idea's for how to apologize
to Akane as he ate, not noticing where Rhye sat in tree just above him shaking his head in
annoyance.
Akane walked to the tree where Ranma sat and looked up at him. She noticed his
distant look and leaned against the tree. She looked out at where all the students went on
with there normal lives and felt a slight tug in her chest. She had thought that Ranma had
gotten over his rudeness after Jusendo and the failed wedding. He had been much better
at keeping his foot out of his mouth until this morning. He had been saying something,
she hadn't been paying attention, and suddenly she slipped and he caught her. For a
second she could have sworn he was going to kiss her, she had seen a frightened look in
his eyes. Then out of nowhere he managed to consume his entire leg.
Akane let out a sigh and shook her head. She had been hoping so much that they
were past this. She wasn't only angry at Ranma, but mad at herself for how she'd
responded and smashed him into the sidewalk.
Rhye listened to the two's thoughts as he nibbled slowly at a strangely yellow
apple. He still looked quite annoyed at them, but was more stirred up over his own
encounter. He found it harder and harder to keep his mind focused on the two and
actually didn't notice when Ranma dropped down from the tree.
Without a sound Ranma landed on the opposite side of the tree and pressed his
back against it. He had failed to notice Akane somehow, still lost in thought over how to
break the silence between them. He didn't want to start back down this road with her
again. This morning had been a slip up, he'd felt that same old twist in his stomach when
he caught her and looked into her eyes. Something had been pulling there faces together,
but his fear suddenly gripped him and he back peddled spitting out the first thing that
came to mind.
"Why can't I just say what I want? Everything...everything always comes out
wrong." Ranma banded the back of his head against the tree then closed his eyes. He
didn't notice Akane's head snap up when he spoke and turn to listen to him. "I'm just not
ready."
Up in the tree above them Rhye looked down and almost fell out of tree at what
he found occurring right beneath his nose. He allowed himself to tumble down the tree to
the lowest branches and hung upside down.
Ranma opened his eyes and looked up into the tree directly where Rhye hung and
let out a long sigh.
"What can I do? She's the most important person in my life, and all I can do is
piss her off or make her cry." He let his thoughts run over the last year and a half he'd
lived with the Tendo's and laughed. "I wasn't trained for this." His voice had grown very
distant, he ran his hands through his hair then let them cover his face.
Akane pressed herself against the tree and listened as Ranma battled with himself.
He can't be talking about...?
He over to where a boy and girl sat on a set of stairs looking at each other
lovingly. It was a sight that would have made him gag not to long ago, but now it made
him feel a hollow spot in his chest.
"I didn't grow up like she did." He reached into the tree above and plucked a
leaf from the branch where Rhye hung. He began playing with it, folding it into a small
square. "I don't know how to just up and tell Akane I..." Ranma caught on the words and
angrily tossed the leaf away. "I can't even say that shit to myself."
Rhye held out his hands and started strangling Ranma then leaned back and let
himself hang freely, arms straight down. *So damn close.*
Akane stepped back from the tree, a slightly hurt look on her face. She turned to
walk away and slammed into Hiroshi who stood watching girls with Daisuke.
"Sup Akane?" Hiroshi said twisting to look at her. His voice carried to where
Ranma leaned against the tree and caused him to turn and look at them. Akane forced her
way past them and raced off into the crowd of students.
She wasn't listening to me? Oh shit! Ranma ran after her but got stopped by his
two friends.
"Man, Ranma, what's the deal with you fianc‚ today?" Daisuke said not looking
away from the girls in the crowd.
Ranma watched Akane vanish into the crowd then slumped down shacking his
head. Damn it!
Rhye hung from the branch watching Ranma give up the chase and cursed under
his breath.
*Well, I better go collect her.* Rhye dropped from the tree and landed lightly on his
feet. After taking a second to adjust his jacket he started walking after Akane.