The Bitter Valentine
"Valentine's day... I used to hate it. It used to be a time when all sorts of fights broke out, when I was treated as some sort of prize to be won, when those girls used to compete on whose Valentines chocolate that I'd eat, when the idiots blamed me when their "loves" didn't give them anything, and when I'd get blamed for any and all damages done to the precious Tendo Dojo..."
"Of course," Ranma chuckled, "There wasn't anything unusually different from any other day, but still..."
He paused for a moment, taking in the lovely aroma of his freshly brewed coffee. The outdoor cafe in Juban had been a very lucky find. Not only did it have the best coffee around, but it was also in the heart of the city itself, where one was most likely to catch a glimpse of the elusive Sailor Senshi. Slowly, Ranma took a sip, savouring the sensation of the warm liquid gliding down his throat...
Heavenly...
"Yeah," Ranma laughed once again, "I really used to hate Valentine's Day."
"But you don't hate it now though."
Ranma took a glance at his companion. Cool, calm, collected and wearing a smirk that rivalled even his... He smiled gently.
"Nope." He answered, "Not anymore."
She waited for a while, almost as though expecting him to elaborate... He didn't. Her smirk turned into a pout. Slowly she tucked a single blond lock behind her ear and stretched slightly; turning several heads as red leather grew taunt against her curves.
"I seem to remember hearing about a particularly bad episode happening to you on Valentine's Day several years ago," she said.
Ranma's smile grew larger, "Yep. Happened four years ago. I was nineteen at the time."
There was a short pause...
That grew into a long pause...
She twitched.
"And -?" she nearly yelled.
"And what?" Ranma grinned behind his cup.
"And what the hell happened?!"
"Oh," Ranma gave a mock look of surprise, "You want to hear the story. Well why didn't you say so."
She shot up suddenly, hands grasping the collar of his black cloak, "Listen wise guy I outta - "
"Be nice," Ranma interrupted, "or I'll put you on the couch again."
The effect was instant. As suddenly as she had stood was as suddenly as she was back in her seat, legs crossed and flame, red, eyes staring at her perfectly manicured nails.
"Fine. Keep your secrets. It's not like we share an office... or a bed..."
This time Ranma laughed.
"It was supposed to be my wedding. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my... our lives... me and Akane."
"One of the girls your father engaged you too?"
"Yep. The only one I was in love with..."
The coffee mug made an empty sound as it hit the table, and Ranma's eyes took on a thousand year stare.
"I remember how perfect she looked in her wedding dress. I remember how much I wanted to be with her, how much I wanted to have a life with her. I remember thinking that everything I'd ever gone through was worth it for this one moment... Valentine's day. Mother thought it would be oh-so-romantic if her manly son got married on Valentine's day... But it wasn't... I remember taking her hand, as the priest began, remember hearing gasps from the assembly... I remember old man Tendo telling me that I couldn't marry his daughter anymore... and I remember him thrusting a note into my face as I held his daughter. A note tracing my genealogy... my line all the way back to the burakumin of the Tokugawa era."
Ranma laughed dryly.
"Nothing I ever did; nothing I had ever done mattered up until that moment. I can't remember what happened for the next few days, but I do remember waking up, still in my tuxedo and covered in filth. Pops had hightailed it, mother didn't want me... not even kind, sweet, Kasumi saw me as human anymore..."
"I hated it," he spat, "I hated them."
"I was trained to be the best. Trained to fight against any and all challenges; but in the end Genma provided me with the one enemy I couldn't defeat. He was the second person I killed, and the first person I enjoyed making scream. I even used one of his own training techniques against him. Dig a pit, fill it with starving cats, tie the trainee up and toss them in..."
"How long did he take to die?" she asked.
Her voice was low, soft, sultry... Ranma grinned.
"Hours. I'm actually surprised he didn't go cat. Guess his mind wasn't malleable enough... not that I cared. I was too busy laughing at him as he begged for his miserable life."
"What about the Tendo's? What did you do to them?"
Ranma's grin grew wider.
"The old man died quickly. Crouch of the wild tiger always did piss me off. As for Kasumi, well the doctor can finally look at her without going crazy; she ain't nearly as pretty as she was. Nabiki... well actually I didn't do anything to her..."
"You didn't?"
"No. The Yakuza got to her before I did. Last I heard they sent her travelling. Hokkaido, Okinawa, Sapporo, she really gets around..."
"And Akane?"
Ranma's grin faltered.
"Akane's heart belongs to me." He said simply.
"Even in death?" came the question.
The sound of a simple wooden box being rested upon the table was her answer.
"Even in death." He responded.
"Should I be jealous?"
"No."
She stared at her lover, as he stood and walked over to her side of the table. He knelt, looking at her with a passion that she had never seen in him before. Her heart skipped several beats.
"Valentine's Day," he said, "Know why I don't hate it anymore?"
She shook her head.
"Cause of you. I met you on Valentine's Day. I met the woman who changed me. Who showed me the truth of the world and who gave me a purpose. So now I want to ask you something. I want you to make me the happiest demon in Nefelheim and say yes, when I ask you to marry me Marller."
"Yes..." she whispered, "yes Ranma."
The ring he presented her with was beyond a doubt, exquisite. A gold band bejewelled with all manner of gems and in the centre a large depression as though the ring itself was unfinished.
Ranma laughed in response.
"Just watch."
And she did. She watched as he a approached a young red-head, using the very same charm that seemed to turn her knees to jelly as he brought her to their table.
"Um... Congratulations on your engagement miss, but I really don't know how I'm supposed to help."
"That's simple," Ranma said, "You're going to be the centrepiece on my Marller's ring."
The look of shock the red-head gave him was quickly replaced by pain and then the blank stare of death. Several screams came to her ears, all of which were ignored in favour of watching the final gem take place in her engagement ring. A heart crystal. A pure heart crystal.
"I love you."
Words spoken that Marller had never meant more. Her lips met his in a frenzy of passion, each struggling for dominance, neither giving in. Never once had she thought that the fallen hero she had tempted over to her side would become the one she would have spent eternity with, but she knew that she would never once regret it.
"Happy Valentine's Marller."
A/N
Why Brain?