The soft whistle of wind mingled with the deep breathing of exhaustion.
"Ranma! Ryouga! Would you two please stop this stupid fighting!? One of you is going to get seriously hurt."
"Can't do that Akane. This has been a long time coming and one of us is going to walk away from this the winner."
"That's right Akane. I'm sorry but we have to do this."
"You....you stupid IDIOTS!!! Both of you are so stupid! You don't have to fight! Stop it right now!"
The crackle of released energy.
"SHI SHI HOUKOUDAN!!!!"
And again.
"MOUKO TAKABISHA!!!!"
An explosion.
"RANMAAAAA!!!! RYOOOOOUGAAAAA!!!!"
Silence. Forever.
Pains of the Past
By Johnny O'Brien
Part One
"You okay Ryouga?" Ranma asked putting a hand on his shoulder. A defeated sigh emerged from the lost boy after several moments of silence.
"No. I'm not okay. I don't think I'll ever be okay ever again Ranma. If only I'd listened to her and...." Ryouga began.
"Stop it! Stop talking like that right now Ryouga! It was an accident! We did everything we could to save her.", Ranma interrupted nearly shouting. He didn't believe himself however. He knew Ryouga didn't either. It was a lie the two always told the other when it started to get to them. They both felt angry at themselves for letting her die. They both felt they were too slow....too stubborn. They both felt they should've listened to her. They both felt there was something else they could have done. They both still blamed themselves for her death.
He still had the anger in him but right now he had to get Ryouga under control. Between the two Ryouga took her death the hardest. The Tendo's reactions only made Ryouga worse. It took a month just to get him to stop trying to take his own life. After he calmed down he was okay though depressed all the time when he was home and put up a mask of no emotion when outside. In Ranma's eyes, Ryouga became a highly unstable time bomb of old, sweating, dynamite just waiting to be dropped or have it's time run out. Ryouga was emotional before and now he was ten times as worse.
Ranma took the death just as hard as Ryouga but he handled it differently. He was never used to showing emotion or crying, his life on the road taking much social interaction from him. He kept his feelings bottled up inside him though you could tell he was depressed and angry if you looked closely in his eyes. He was stable for a few months and then he exploded one evening over nothing and nearly totally destroyed the dojo before Ryouga and Genma managed to restrain him. This episode had since happened on an almost regular basis. Genma, Nodoka and Ryouga began to notice the symptoms of it, as did Ranma, and took precautions every time he began to build up.
Genma, after the funeral, went home with Ranma and Ryouga. He told Nodoka plainly and up front about the curses and she was angry. She had strong words with Genma but didn't force them to commit seppuku. At Ranma's insistence Ryouga was allowed to live with them and soon became a member of the family. The Saotome's left Nerima after Ranma graduated and moved to Kyoto, the pressure of the community beginning to get to the two boys. The looks others were giving them. The distance and the whispering behind closed doors. Most of the friends the two had made began to distance themselves from the two and soon all were gone. Even Shampoo left with Cologne and Mousse and went back to China. Apparently she didn't want to leave but Cologne forced her by speaking of Ranma's current dishonor.
Not surprisingly Ukyou was the only one who never stopped being friends with Ranma. She always visited and tried to cheer him and Ryouga up. She moved when the Saotome's did and sold her restaurant. She opened another in Kyoto, of the same name as the first, and continued to be what Ranma needed most. A friend. She told Ranma, Genma and Nodoka shortly after they moved that she was giving up her claim on Ranma as her fiancée. She knew he didn't need the added hassle given the circumstances and would rather help him than hurt him with reminders of the past. She said up front she still loved him and would again be his fiancée but it would be when he was ready to love her back as well.
Ranma still remembered that day clearly. He had been moved to tears by his friend's words and hugged her tightly for several minutes. They had all settled into a fairly steady lifestyle and Genma had managed to buy a house with a dojo. He had since fixed it up and began teaching classes. Ukyou ran her restaurant and Ranma and Ryouga had gotten jobs. The two were hired on as security guards for a recently constructed office building. They worked the night shift for a couple of weeks and then switched to day shift. Life had been pretty normal only it was approaching a certain day of the year when things began getting tense; the anniversary of Akane's death.
It was around this time of the year when Ryouga began getting extremely depressed bordering on suicidal. This was the time when Ranma had to keep Ryouga from going too far and doing something he knew they both would regret forever.
"Ryouga? You hear me?! We did everything we could!" Ranma said realizing Ryouga had been silent too long. Ryouga lifted his head slowly and looked to Ranma, his eyes bloodshot and bags very evident under his eyes.
"Yeah. I hear you Ranma. I know. What time is it?" Ryouga asked lowering his head again. Hearing the words didn't make him feel any better but then again, they never did.
"About six-thirty.", Ranma replied and sighed softly rising from the bed and walking over to the window and moving the blinds a bit to look outside. The sun was just beginning to rise and shed its light upon the earth. Ranma glanced back hearing Ryouga's groan as he rose and began stretching. He smiled softly to himself. At least he wasn't as depressed as he was upon waking. He hated for Ryouga to be depressed and he only knew two ways to get Ryouga out of a depressed mood. One was to make him angry and Ranma had decided long ago that was out of the question. The only other way, and the harder of the two, was to get him to listen to reason.
"Damn. I hate it when I sleep on my neck." Ryouga said and groaned again as he continued to stretch. Ranma chuckled softly and turned heading for the bathroom.
"Well then don't sleep on your neck dummy." Ranma said with a smirk. Ryouga glowered at his retreating form for a whole second before smirking as well and following. He entered the bathroom and watched for a moment as Ranma started the water running for the bath and moved over to the washing area, undressing as he went. Ryouga smiled softly and stood in silence watching Ranma undress and remembered fondly all the times, even the bad, he had had with Ranma. The man who was now perhaps his best and only friend in the world save Ukyou. How he missed Akane and longed to punish himself for her death. He felt he should be punished. It was his fault she died.
No it wasn't. Was it? He didn't know and every time he thought about it he just got a headache but Ranma was so convinced it wasn't and he was usually right about these things. He watched for a few more moments as Ranma sat down and began to scrub himself over. His eyes stopped focusing on any one thing and just stared blankly into nothingness. His mind was about to follow it into that black depth when he shook his head and blinked his eyes clear. With a soft sigh he cursed mentally at himself and moved into the bathroom. Ryouga followed and undressed himself, sitting down on stool beside Ranma and began scrubbing himself over with the soap. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Ryouga broke the silence.
"When are we leaving?" Ryouga asked softly.
"After work today. Mom and Pop are going to meet us outside the Fujishima building and we'll head to the train station from there." Ranma said evenly.
"Oh. Okay." Ryouga said and the two upended the buckets of cold water onto each other. The instant transformations of Jusenkyou taking effect and in place of the two young men now sat a young red-headed and extremely beautiful woman, and a small adorably cute black piglet. Both shivered and headed for the bath, while Ranma-chan paused and glanced to the piglet.
"You know Ryouga.....you....don't have to come if you don't want to. I know Akane would understand." Ranma-chan said and then entered the steaming water reverting male again. He sighed in relaxation and watched as Ryouga toddled over and jumped up on the edge of the bath. He paused to look at Ranma and then hopped in and reverted as well his upper body rising from the surface and shedding the water around him. He sighed as well and relaxed. He shook his head softly.
"No. I'll go. I have to go. To pay my respect to Akane....and tell her I'm sorry." Ryouga said quietly and looked from the water to Ranma. He blinked seeing Ranma's small smile and couldn't help but smile back, just a bit.
"Alright Ryouga. I understand. I have to do the same....but since your are better with words and all that sensitive stuff I'll let you say it for the both of us. Okay?" Ranma asked. Ryouga smiled a little wider and nodded before laying back and relaxing more. Ranma smiled more to himself and relaxed. Ryouga was smiling. This was not just a good sign. It was almost a miracle.
The two lay relaxing in the warm soothing water and time seemed to stand still. After who knows how many minutes Ranma's ears perked as he both sensed and heard his parents getting up. He shifted in the water and that got Ryouga's attention.
"Huh? What's happening?" Ryouga asked snorting lightly from being disturbed.
"Nothing. Mom and Pop are up. Breakfast will be ready soon. Up for some sparring before then?" Ranma asked hoping he would be. One of the few things the two actually seemed happy doing was fighting or sparring or training.
"Sparring? Sure thing. I'm always willing to beat you up. Anytime. Anywhere." Ryouga said confidently with a smirk and rose out of the tub with Ranma.
"Ha! In your dreams lost boy." Ranma taunted back and the two laughed to themselves and proceeded to get dried off and dressed before heading out to the backyard to spar.
Nodoka glanced out the window as another small explosion rocked the backyard and the house. She smiled softly to herself and watched the two boys leap back and forth at each other in the air attacking and dodging. She sighed and turned back to her cooking knowing it was all a front for the pain they felt. She knew the happiness of the Art could only make them forget the pain for a short time. It would soon be back and her boys would be depressed once again.
She paused in her cooking and smiled again. Her boys. She wasn't sure exactly when it had been but she found herself thinking of Ryouga as another son. From what Ranma had told her in private about him he was a seriously lonely child who needed attention more than anything. His whole family stricken with a sense of direction the likes of which she had not thought possible. His childhood one of independence and self protection and periods of total isolation. His school years much the same, filled with bitter hate and hurt feelings from the tormenting of his classmates. He learned the Art from his father on those rare occasions they were together and picked up most of it on his own. He found very soon that people did not make fun of what they feared so he used his skill and his strength to make his classmates fear him.
This stopped their torment of him, but it also stopped him from having friends. Until Ranma came along he was always a lonely child as no one would go near him or even thought to challenge him. When Ranma took the bread before him she imagined the poor boy nearly leapt at the opportunity. Someone who wasn't afraid of him. From the story he kept a front of hostility up and the Bread feud started which led to Jusenkyou, the curse and revenge. By this time, she knew from her talks with Ryouga, he was so confused, the curse such a life-shattering event he began to believe his own lies and truly began to hate Ranma. Then the whole Nerima years with Akane, the poor girl, and the others served to weaken him further.
She could see from her brief meetings with him before she found out the truth that he was a sensitive young man and the death of Akane was the last straw for him. She honestly wasn't sure which of the two she pitied more, Ryouga for his constant depression and self-hatred or Ranma for his unexpressive bottled-up nature. She sighed and served the last of breakfast placing it on the table. She turned and walked over to the door to watch the boys spar for a short while.
"Boys. Breakfast's ready." Nodoka called out to be answered back immediately.
"Thanks Mom! We'll be right there." Ranma called out sending a punch to Ryouga.
"Smells great Mrs. Saotome.", Ryouga called catching the punch and flipping Ranma over his shoulder into the koi pond in their backyard. Nodoka shook her head and headed inside to Genma sitting down looking about ready to devour the whole table. She quickly moved to stop him while Ryouga helped Ranma-chan out of the pond. She fixed him with a wry look and pulled her shirt off wringing it dry.
"You were just lucky you know?" Ranma-chan said and then smirked putting her shirt back on heading inside.
"I know." Ryouga said confidently and followed. The two were soon seated at the table and the family began to eat. About halfway through the meal Genma glanced to the two.
"Did you two sleep alright? I thought I heard a noise from your room early this morning?" Genma asked an eyebrow rose. Nodoka stiffened and glanced to her husband. She sometimes doubted his intelligence and this was one of those times. She looked to the two boys whose faces clouded for a moment.
"Yeah we slept fine though lost boy here snored so badly I had to throw a few pillows at him." Ranma said nudging Ryouga a little roughly. Ryouga nudged back and glared a little.
"Shut up Ranma. I don't hear you being such a quiet sleeper." Ryouga countered.
"Yeah but only because your snoring is too loud for you to hear anything!" Ranma said and smirked.
"Shut up!" Ryouga growled and went back to eating breakfast. Genma just shrugged and did the same. Nodoka smiled softly to Ranma who nodded. The rest of breakfast went on as usual and afterwards Ranma and Ryouga got dressed and their uniforms and headed off, via the rooftops, to the Fujishima building for work.
It rained suddenly and steadily. The storm had started about an hour before Ranma and Ryouga's shift ended. A call two hours ago from Nodoka told them they would have to meet them at the train station as some sudden business came up concerning the dojo that Genma had to deal with right away. That is why upon the stormy afternoon the rain steadily beating down that Ranma-chan and Ryouga were walking down the street both crowded under Ryouga's umbrella. A gust of wind had gotten Ranma-chan at the door and changed him into a girl. They didn't have time to change back so the two just headed for the station. A passer by would have thought the two a cute couple. Ryouga, a tall strong young man in his normal attire holding his umbrella in one hand his other arm wrapped around the shoulders of Ranma-chan, a smaller red-headed woman with a definite allure yet also a strange masculine nature to her.
Neither of the two cared what anyone thought of them. They had stopped caring after their 'friends' just deserted them. The two were sad and depressed because of where they were going. What that symbolized. They were also happy in a way that they had each other to lean on and support. What they needed most of all was each other. This was a lesson, an unwritten rule between the two. They knew as long as one had the other by his side they could survive anything. They walked along the streets towards the station in silence, holding to each other to keep under the protective area of the umbrella mostly but also, somewhere deep inside for an inner strength to actually continue towards the station. Towards the way back to Nerima.
After a thirty-five minute walk in the rain the two reached the station and entered. They shucked the cover of the umbrella, now out of the rain, and glanced around. They soon spotted Genma and Nodoka sitting and waiting and another familiar face as well. Ukyou. The two smiled a bit and headed over waving lightly.
"Hi guys. Sorry if we were late. Got caught in the rain." Ranma-chan said with a wry grin.
"I can see that Ranchan. It's okay. We weren't waiting long." Ukyou said and raised hugging Ranma and then Ryouga.
"Thanks Ukyou." Ryouga said quietly and sat down next to Nodoka. Nodoka moved and hugged him as well, placing a soft kiss upon his temple. Ukyou was never sure but she always though she saw a glimmer of absolute joy each time Nodoka kissed him like the caring mother she was.
"No prob Sugar. You two sure you ready to do this?" Ukyou asked and watched as the two glanced at each other and then nod.
"We're sure Ucchan. We've got some things to say to her.", Ranma-chan stated simply. She was about to say something when a nasal voice suddenly blared over the station.
"May I have your attention please? Will all passengers for the 108 train to Nerima please move to gate 12 and board. Five minutes until departure." the voice announced. Ranma, Ryouga, Ukyou, Nodoka and Genma all rose and got their things and quickly headed off. Ryouga pulled his umbrella as Genma pulled one of his own. Nodoka slid up next to him while Ranma-chan and Ukyou moves close to Ryouga. Once it was their turn they dashed across the platform and entered the train smoothly shutting their umbrellas.
With a collective sigh they quickly turned and made their way further into the train and to their cabin. A few minutes of adjusting things and the five sat down just as the train started to move. Ranma and Ryouga looked to each other from their opposite seats near the window and then both looked out as the train built up speed the wear sliding off the windows and falling steadily outside and on the roof. The two sighed in unison. Nodoka and Ukyou glanced to the two boys and then to each other both terribly worried.
"Five years." Ryouga whispered to Ranma who nodded.
"Yeah…five years." Ranma agreed.
"We have to get her favorite flowers." Ryouga said continuing to look out the window.
"I know. We will." Ranma said assuring the other that they would.
"Good. Good. I want it to be perfect when we go. I want her to be happy again." Ryouga said ignoring the small tear drops that slide down his cheeks.
"It will be Ryouga. I promise." Ranma said and watched emotionlessly as a flash of lightning lit up the sky and a crash of thunder rumbled across the sky. The train sped on its way towards Nerima carrying the two boys back to a place of once happy times. A place of fond memories. A place of forgotten fears. A place of now unknown loyalty. A place of death....and destiny.
End of Part One
Author's Miscellany: Well, it's been a long time since I wrote this little story. I've gone through it a bit and fixed up some spelling mistakes, changed a few little things around. And now I'm posting it here. I hope some people find it enjoyable. If any of you with to comment or offer constructive criticism feel free.