tentively begun by
imortis
Akane was angry. No, angry isn't the word for it. Akane was enraged. She punched the wooden board ranma used all the time for his training harder as she thought about what had happened eariler at school. She was sitting almost civilly with the asshole, for once he was keeping quiet, when kodachi appeared and started hanging all over him. She had gotten angry then, normal anger really, who wouldn't get angry at their fiancé for groping her rival for his hand right in front of her? She had pounded the baka hard, then had to suffer the insult of having him get between her and her revenge on kodachi, totally insulting her right to settle it by calling her a 'weakling girl' in front of the entire school.
Then kodachi kissed him. Her anger had grown watching them stand there, ranma let it go on for three minutes before pretending to try and get away from her. He'd tried to defend it saying he didn't want it but she could see the blush on his face, the pleased look in his eyes. Then the last straw happened. He COMANDED HER!! To stop picking fights she had no hope of winning, kodachi had sneered so insultingly at her that she attacked. She got in two good hits before ranma got between them, thats when kodachi had hit her in the face with a spiked club..
Ranma just stood there looking wide eyed at the blood, stood there and
watched her humiliation as the bitch laughed. Instead of defending her,
as he should have! He grabbed akane up and ran strait for tofus clinic,
the whole time cursing her stupidity for trying to fight everyone better
then her.
She snarled pounding the post so hard it snapped off like it was paper
thin. She stood there heaving in anger, the stitching on her face hurting
like hell, deriving her rage even higher. She gripped her fists looking
down at the post wishing it was ranma or kodachi, or that it was still
standing. She looked around and almost screamed in animal rage seeing ranma
watching her closely from the porch. She turned away from him and stalked
across the yard wishing she still had something to break. She stomped around
the dojo a few times doing one thing, trying to think of a revenge so terrible
that kodachi would never dare come near her again. She blinked stopping
as she rounded the dojo for the seventh time to see ranma standing against
the dojos side, directly in her path. He looked at her firtively without
turning his head her way and cleared his throat "are you ok?" he asked
softly. Akane glared at him "what the hell do you care?! Just get lost,
I'm not going to forgive you any time soon."
Ranma blinked looking at her "what?!" he exclaimed. She glared gripping her fists "don't even dare pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! First you humiliate me in front of the school by groping that slut right in front of me!! Then you insulted me even worse when you stopped me from fighting that.... kuno! Your the reason I'm going to have a scar on my face!!! you stopped me! If you gave a shit about me you would have stopped her!! But no! You cared more about her then me and now I'm going to live the rest of my life with this!!!" She flung her hand at her face glaring at him in her rage.
He looked away in guilt as she stood there heaving at him. Ranma shuffled
his feet a bit trying to think of something to say "no, don't bother."
she spat venomiously cutting him off when he got up the nerve "its obvious
you care more about flirting with the sluts that hang on you then you do
me. Well you know what? I don't care anymore. You can go to hell saotome
ranma, because theres more chance of my marrying kuno then someone that
won't respect my right to defend myself. You've disrespected me from the
first time we saw each other, I'm not putting up with it anymore. Go to
ukyo, she seems to be one to put up with your insulting, sexist attitude
all the time."
She looked up from the stunned look on ranmas face to see ryouga standing
there looking deeply pleased. She smiled at him "ryouga, would you like
to go on a training trip with me? I need to train hard so I can pay that
bitch back for scarring me." Ryouga nodded quickly coming forward
"of course akane-chan! We can leave when your ready!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Ranma looked on wide eyed "akane...!" he breathed. She looked at him and
the fire entered her eyes again "I told you to get lost."
-----
Akane pulled her pack tightly to her shoulder and grinned hurrying
into the house and into the kitchen to hug kisumi. She blinked stopping
as she walked into the room to seeing the unusually somber look on kisumis
face. She blinked at her for a minute before she turned and smiled
in forced happiness and surprise "akane! Your home! I'm so glad to see
you!" she exclaimed rushing forward to hug her tightly. Akane blinked almost
in surprise at the feirce grip she had on her "hi kisumi.... where is everyone?
I figured... ranma would be fighting with his father or something."
Kisumis face looked stricken for a minute before she looked away "no....
ranmas gone."
Akane blinked at her "he is? I guess I shouldn't be surprised he left."
she snorted scowling slightly, but let it go, she had been over her anger
for the last five months. Kisumi looked at her for a few minutes silently
before turning back to the stove "akane... what happened between you and
ryouga?" Akane blinked in surprise at the question and sat down "we
trained for a long time, after that he.. Left. Why?" Kisumi set down
her cutting knife and stood there "what else happened?" Akane looked
down blushing slightly "we.... why? Why are you asking me this?"
Kisumi turned around and looked at her "I need to know akane." Akane looked at her a little in concern "what happened? Why are you so serious?" Kisumi sat down and looked at her quietly "tell me, please." Akane sighed looking down "we... it was after I learned the breaking point.... we were so... happy, it just happened...." Kisumi nodded "you had sex with him." Akane blushed not speaking "go on." She cleared her throat not looking up "the next day ryouga told me he loved me and.... he told me about his curse, he told me how he got it and how he had used it to 'protect me' from ranma. I.... I felt so betrayed.... I left him there, told him I hated him and left."
Kisumi nodded sadly looking down "ranma stopped training the day you left. He told the other girls to leave him alone and wouldn't speak to them after that. All he did all day was sit in his room and stare at the wall. After about five months of this.... ryouga appeared." She looked at her hands depressed "ranma didn't even put up a fight, ryouga came in screaming how you were his now and that ranma had done something to make you hate him. Father and uncle genma tried to stop him, if grandfather happosai hadn't been in the house he would have killed ranma. He hadn't done more then walk to school and back since you left... and he didn't resist at all...." She sniffed wiping at the tears in her eyes "aunite was forced to use her sword on ryouga when he knocked out grandfather. He died soon after."
Akane gapped in horror at her "ry- ryouga...." she breathed. Kisumi looked at her "ranma hasn't said a word to anyone since he got out of the hospital, he can barely walk, not that he does. They had him moved back to the hospital when he tried to commit seppuku....." she shook her head crying hard now "ranmas spirit died when ryouga told him akane, last time I saw him.... its like the ranma I knew is gone, none of the person we knew is left in him!" Akane hurried around the table and hugged her sister tight in horror and grief, blinking at the tears in her eyes. After a half hour kisumi got ahold of herself and pulled away "he.... he left a note for you when he tried to kill himself..." she quickly left the room. Akane sat there dazed, and dreading the idea of ranma leaving a letter for her when he intended to kill himself.
Kisumi came back in the room and grimly handed her a sealed envelope with her name on it "he gave it to me and made me promise no one but you would see it." she explained. Akane looked at it a little fearfully before gathering her courage and ripped it open.
"Dear akane. It took me a while after you left to realize just how much I wronged you. I realize I deserved every word of what you said. I know I was wrong, but I could not stop myself. The thought of anything hurting you was an agony in my chest. I didn't know I loved you, I knew I liked you and wanted to protect you, but I didn't realize how much I loved you until you left. I wanted nothing more then to rip kodachis throat out for hurting you that day.... and it hurt too much hearing your words that day or I would have told you about the feelings I'd been struggling to understand. I couldn't get past the pain of watching you leave with ryouga, and knowing I'd ruined my life. I suspect that someones told you about mom killing ryouga a few weeks ago, the hospitals let me out and I'm sitting here writing this letter. I just wanted to at least let you know why I did what I did all the time. I dearly did not intend to humiliate you that day. I was scared, and the words came out before I could stop them, an old habit that has cost me so much."
"Everytime I see the girls start to attack you, it terrified me. It filled me with so much fear that my instinct did most of the work when it happened, scared of you getting hurt.... and of myself if they hurt you. I took off that day she hurt you because I could feel the need to rip her apart clawing at my control, I could feel the fire that consumed saffron raging to be let out and that scared me as much as you being hurt. I realize now that you were my only reason for continuing to fight it, too much, far too much for me to deal with anymore, so I locked myself away from everyone and gave up the art. Then ryouga..... I found myself disgusted that he couldn't even do me that one favor in the end, I woke up. Stupid idiot could never get anything right. I wanted to die, it was so clear that I needed to die, without you all I am is a dangerous animal that should have been put down long ago, you kept me human. So while I can still think strait I'm going to do this."
"I don't want you to think this is just some way to get revenge akane, it isn't. From the moment I met you... the beast inside me was quiet. When you smiled at me and asked to be my friend.... for the first time since it happened the thing eating at my mind was quiet. Then when all the anger started, it sent me the insults, it wanted to lash out at you for hurting us like that, I have to confess akane.... I lied when I said..... I never remembered when I went into the catfist. The catfist was a nightmare for me before I met you, horrific images of the things it did. When he came out I was so scared for you, but he didn't do anything, I found I could control him a little. I was so elated that I had found someone that could help me control my demon that I stole a kiss from you. Anyways, after you left..... kodachi was found ripped to peices.... and my nightmares started again. I know it was the cat because her face was unrecognizable. After that I stopped leaving my room. I'm writing this down so that you'll know why I have to die. I can't stand it any longer, every time it happened, pop covering it up, I never told him I could see what the cat was doing, or told him about how I would see him digging a shallow grave every now and then. I hated him for that. He never told me about any of it."
"Why did I write that? I don't know, I guess I should tell someone and I trusted you above even myself. I guess the catfist is why I wouldn't let myself get close to you, I was afraid of letting someone close again, pop put that demon in my head when I trusted him. I was afraid that if I let myself show my love for you.... I would have a nightmare of pop burying you. Funny isn't it? One of the bravest men I know and I was too paralized by fear to let myself love the only one I could ever care for. Good bye akane, I love you even though I know you never loved me."
Both akane and kisumi sat there in shock after she finished reading the letter "Oh my.... Poor ranma.... No wonder he was so tortured." kisumi whispered through her hand. Akane held the letter close looking at the table top dazed. Both of them looked up hearing the telephone ring and kisumi got up to get it. She shreeked softly dropping the reciever after a second making akane get up. She picked up the phone "hello?" she asked softly.
Nibikis voice was on the line "akane, finally came home huh? Well its too late. This morning ranma ripped genmas throat out when his parents came to visit him. He severely wounded himself with nodokas sword. How the hell they let her bring that in to him I will never know. They say genma was harping on him and he went mad. I hope it was worth it akane."
Akane dropped the phone covering her mouth and started to sob without knowing why. Kisumi picked up the phone "how.... How is he doing?" she whispered softly. Nibiki sniffed "he's very weak, but they say hes stable at the moment, he hurt himself very badly kisumi." Kisumi shook in unshed tears before blinking at akane as she jumped up grabbing the letter from the table. Kisumi blinked after her "akanes coming nibiki. Ranma left her a note, it..... you'll see." Nibiki blinked at that "what note?" she aksed. Kisumi sniffed "ranma left a note for akane when he tried to kill himself. Oh nibiki, how could we not see how tortured ranma was?" she cried softly. Nibiki blanched a bit "ranma... left akane a note before he tried to kill himself? What does it say, kisumi? What do you mean?" she aksed making both soun and nodoka who was with her stare.
Kisumi sniffed "genmas a very bad man little sister." she said softly
and hung up the phone. Nibiki looked at it and hung up "what did
she say?" soun asked. Nibiki frowned deeply "she said ranmas a very
tortured young man, and that genma is a very bad man." she said simply
looking at them and tofu. He looked grim at that "this all has something
to do with genma?" tofu aksed. Nibiki nodded "akane has the suicide
note ranma left, kisumi said shes bringing it to us."
Everyone looked up when the doors to the waiting room burst open and stared shocked at the crying girl that hurried into the room. She sniffed looking at them and pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket and handed it to nodoka silently. She opened it and sat down covering her mouth. Everyone stared at her but akane who was crying osftly near her. When she finished it she put it down and hugged akane crying softly herself. Nibiki picked it up and read through it paling softly. She looked down for a mometn before reading ti again "genma was an evil man." she murmured softly letting tofu have it. He rumbled softly looking at it "this would explain many of the things we wondered about ranma." he murmured softly letting soun have it. He looked and paled bleach white "s- saotome? He..." he said softly looking stunned. Akane sniffed looking at tofu "can I see him?" she aksed soflty.
He looked donw "not right now, when he woke up he tried to attack some of the doctors and we restrained him." he murmured sadly. Akane started crying agian and hugged nodoka tightly after a few minutes they heard a thoughtful rumble and blinekd seeing cologne lower the note "this explains many things." she siad offering ti to happosai who was standing beside her looking sad. He read it and hissed "that stupid fool! I warned him! I told him not to seek out the catfist and the fool went and did it anyways!!" he shouted angrilly. Cologne looked at him "he asked you about it?" Happosai nodded "I told him, I told him that the only thing the catfist can do is make a monster and he did it anyways! I say he got off lucky!" he spat. The doctors in the room blinked at them "what exactly is wrong with mr saotome?" one aksed looking curious. Tofu cleared his throat walking over and started talking with them in soft tones.
They gapped in horror and looked at the note he held out to them. They looked grim nodding "I see, I don't know what we can do for him then, we don't deal in demon possession." one of them said plantively. Another looked thoughtful "I think I know someone who could help." he said simply. All the other doctors looked at him "what do you mean?" the attending asked curiously. He held up his hand "bare with me here, I know of a man who I believes is an actual warlock, he has done some amazing things that I can't explain, he once told me about having knowledge of demons, maybe he can help the boy." They blinekd at him "and if its just a split personality brought on by acute childhood trama and abuse?" another asked. He shrugged "maybe we can convence him to eleminate the second personality if we convence him hes been excorsized." he suggested.
He held up his hand seeing their disbelieving looks "I know it sounds like a stupid idea, but I've been reading the journal of late and came across a report done b a man in america that theorizes that if a person believes something totally, the mind will make it real, he quoted cases of patients who were convences they had been stabbed while under hypnosis and the mind made the wound real, the poor man had to have seven stitches to close the hole in his side." They stared at him "and you think if this man comes in and convences him hes destoryed the demon that the boy will come out of his pshycosis?" one aksed. He nodded "the boy obviously thinks a demon is inside him, and.... if its the truth..... then it would be handy to have a man who knows magic on hand."
They looked ill at ease at that "we will be watching your warlock while
he does it if you deside to do this." cologne said standing beside them
with happosai . He nodded "we should be able to tell right away if
this man your talking about is real." he said firmly. They looked
at him "and how is that?" the doctor asked. They looked at him "because
between us we know more about demons and magic then anyone alive." cologne
siad simply. They looked at them and tofu nodded "I don't know anyone
who knows more about this then these two." They nodded after a miute
agreeing "we can't think of anything else to do." one rumbled softly.
They sighed "call your friend, ask him if he can help us." tofu told the
doctor. He nodded leaving to find a phone.
so what do you think? i'm stuck myself, if you want to, run with the idea, send me the finihsed product, i look forward to seeing it.