Generic Disclaimer: I do not own the Ranma ½ characters, or any of the other characters mentioned in this story. If I make up a new character to put in, I'll let'cha know. Please don't take legal laction against me, I'm poor even by fanfiction author standards :(
And please don't tease me about the title of the story- I'll come up with something better...maybe.
Losing Innocence, Finding Self
Prologue:
For the past four hours, he had simply sat there, leaning back against the railing of the ship. He was physically exhausted, but he didn't want to sleep. If he slept, the nightmares would come again. The nightmares where he relived that last battle over and over again. Where he was reminded time and again of what he had done. He had taken a life- even if it was to save an innocent, he couldn't stop the guilt from eating at him.
But the guilt did not stem from the fact that he had killed. No, it was something far worse in his eyes. He had become something truly horrible. He had changed, become a monster, a monster that wanted very much to claim the life of his opponent. And it had felt right.
That was the feeling that scared him the most. He felt no remorse at having taken a life, something a martial artist was never supposed to do. A martial artist protected those weaker than him, used his strength to preserve life- not to take it away. Maybe he was justified in what he did, taking one life to save another. But he should have regretted it with all his heart. And he didn't. He simply could not bring himself to feel even the slightest sense of remorse over what he had done.
The others avoided him like the plague, even the one he had sacrificed his innocence for.He had risked his life for her, confessed that he loved her, and she just didn't care. Was this how it would always be? Would his father finally pressure him into marrying someone that blatantly disregarded his feelings day after day? Who hurt him time and again and almost seemed to enjoy it?
No. No more. He would not marry her. He would not marry any of his so called fiances, who only treated him as a prize to be won. He would not let his life be controlled anymore. His fool of a father was in for one nasty surprise the next time he pulled one of his idiotic stunts.
A small smile slowly formed on his lips, effectively banishing the formerly blank look on his face. Soon, very soon, his old man would find out the hard way what happened when you tried to cage a wild beast. They all would.
AN: Yes, I know, it's not much...but I'm about to go to sleep, I'm tired, lemme alone. I'll go back and revise it later if you hate it that much.