Vow
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction
Prologue
Dear Ranma,
Looks like I've wound up in Sendai, aptly nicknamed the City of Trees. I was walking all day today, so now my legs feel like jelly. I made camp in a vacant lot, and as I write I'm waiting for the water to boil for my luxurious dinner of instant beef-flavoured ramen. Yum. Anyway, I'll get home as fast as I can. I'll probably pick up a souvenir for you on my way; I'll get a bone or something for Shirokuro, if I can find one. Well, the water is ready. Time for supper!
I miss you. Be back soon.
Ryoga
Ranma folded the letter back up and set it down, letting out a long sigh. From under the kotatsu he felt Shirokuro's warm breath fan across his knee as she sighed, too. Ranma chuckled, and reached under the table to scratch the dog's soft ears. He got up and went into the kitchen, shutting off the stove. He made himself a cup of tea, and came back into the living room. Shirokuro was still under the table, whining. Ranma stopped, and frowned slightly, wondering what was troubling the animal. He shrugged, and sat back down. He rested his chin in his hands, and watched the steam float up from his tea.
Just then, the tea started to ripple outwards, then the whole cup jittered around on the table. Ranma reflexively shot out his hand and grabbed the cup, but it was so hot he pulled his hand back just as quickly with a curse under his breath. Looking around the room, he saw the whole place was shuddering. The television, the pictures on the wall, and poor Shirokuro was shaking like a leaf, whimpering in fright. Ranma stood up and hurried over to the front door, taking a look outside, noticing several other people on the street were doing the same. The trees shivered slightly, and Ranma could feel the vibration coming from the earth rattle his whole frame from under his bare feet.
"Quite the earthquake!" Ranma heard someone call. He looked to his left to see his neighbour Mr. Hoshi, an old man in his late fifties. Ranma smiled back.
"I'll say!" he replied. He headed back into the house and shut the door. Now, Shirokuro was howling in fear. Ranma went back into the living room, and made a face. His tea had toppled over, leaving a large spill that dripped off the side of the table.
"Ah, shit," Ranma huffed. Ranma went into the kitchen and grabbed a cloth. He couldn't believe how long this quake was lasting. Japan was known to have several earthquakes, usually nothing too damaging, at least in the area he lived in. Ranma shook his head and went back into the living room to mop up the mess. Shirokuro popped her head out from under the table and looked up at Ranma with her big eyes, one shrouded in black, the other in white.
"Easy, girl. It'll be over soon." Ranma soothed. As if on cue, the shaking stopped, as abruptly as it had began. The room felt almost too quiet without the rattling. Shirokuro was instantly happier, and let out a happy 'awoo' sound, getting out from under the kotatsu. Ranma laughed.
"See? That wasn't so scary, was it?" Ranma bent down and pet the dog's warm head. Shirokuro wagged her tail. Ranma went back into the kitchen and threw the tea-soiled cloth in the sink. Walking back out to the kitchen he noticed the folded peice of paper on the table, soaked with tea. Ranma bit his lip, grabbing the damp paper and carefully unfolding it, the tea making the paper flimsy. Opening the letter, Ranma frowned. The words were severely smudged, so badly Ranma could hardly make out what it said anymore.
"Dammit," he whispered. He considered putting the blow dryer on it, but it was no use. The tea had smudged the ink beyond recognition, leaving the entire message unreadable. Ranma decided to just throw the letter in the garbage; he walked into the kitchen and stood over the trash bin, but couldn't bring himself to throw the letter away. Ranma ran his fingers over the paper, wiping away some of the droplets of tea that were dragging ink with them. Ranma went over the the fridge, placed the letter on the freezer door, and placed a fridge magnet at the top of the note, in the middle, holding it in place. Ranma stood back and admired his work. Getting a better look at it, he could see there was one spot that survived the tea and was actually legible.
I miss you.
Ryoga.
Ranma smiled, letting out a small laugh and shaking his head. He reached out and touched the words with his fingertips. He let them run down till his arm fell back to his side.
"Yeah," he said. "I miss you, too."
Author's Notes:
Jadells here once again with a brand new story! And, surprise surprise, it's Ranma/Ryoga. Again. These two never get old, I swear. They're freakin' adorable.
Anyways, well, same old song and dance, folks. Yes, this is a yaoi between two dudes. If ya don't like it, well, you're missin' out. xD
For those of you who DO like this pairing, but were confused at the slap-in-the-face of a plot that this prologue was, well, I have my reasons. First of all, I can't stand it when I find a Ranma/Ryoga story that has a whole whack o' chapters...but either one of two things happen:
1) They just hop in one another's pants like two horny rabbits (which is really nothing to complain about if you just want your smut-fix, but is annoying when you're trying to find a story with an actual PLOT).
or, 2) Ranma and Ryoga run around like chickens with their heads cut off and it's all "I'm a GUY, dammit!", and, "I'm not gay!", and, "We're just supposed to be rivals!"
Okay, one day when I'm in the mood to write some good old fashioned, cut-to-the-chase, full-blown lemon, I will most likely use option #1. However, when writing non-pornographic fanfiction, there is no way in hell you will see me use option #2. It's boring, typical, predictable, and simply just irritates the reader. So, when I write my Ranma/Ryoga, I always say in my defense that all the typical dramas and confusion you were expecting from Ranma and Ryoga has already passed, because once that's outta your way, you can torture those two guys whoever the hell you feel, and it is GLORIOUS.
Okay, whew. Goddamn, I have got to stop it with these huge-ass Author's Notes. O_O Sorry, folks, I just needed to clear the air on this before I continue with the story, so that (hopefully) I won't get reveiws complaining on why Ranma and Ryoga are "already together". If you like Ranma/Ryoga enough that you're reading the story, why are you complaining that they're already a couple? That should make you happy! D:
Alright, ranting done. All in all, I hope you enjoy the story. :)
- Jadells
PS, This story is rated M for a reason, folks. Enter at your own risk. ;)