Disclaimer: These characters belong to the incomparable Takahashi and her powerful lawyers. I
will try to do them justice.
This Storey is dedicated to all of the Authors who's work I have enjoyed and have inspired me to create this. I would also like to thank 3 Doors Down for their song "When I'm Gone", I can't
think of any song that better describes Ranma.
Prologue
She still remembered when he entered her life, a red headed girl, she had offered her friendship
to. Someone she had hoped, would understand her, be a friend. She remembered the feelings of
betrayal when she found out she was a he. A boy. She remembered what came later. The Anger. The Frustration. The Joy. The Love. It was a time of motion. A torrent of emotions and actions, life and death struggles, challenges to be met.
Best friends, and the bitterest of enemies. Partners and rivals. They had been all of them to each other in their time together. He came into her life so suddenly, like a wild a thing, like a storm. And then, just as quickly, he was gone...
As he trudged wearily up the stairs, bruised, battered and burned, Ranma Saotome, possibly the
greatest Martial Artist on the planet, thought over the events of the last few weeks. The Phoenix
People, Jusendo, almost losing Akane twice, and then to come home too the bombed out
wedding...
Dammit! He couldn't believe those people! What the hell where they possibly thinking! Shampoo saw what he did for Akane! She saw him KILL Saffron! Ukyo! Did she think he would love her for endangering his family? Pop stealing his cure for God's sake! Well, at least Mom was taking care of him! And what about Nabiki? Did she not care about anything but money? Inviting those maniacs to the wedding!
Akane. That was his biggest problem. Why was she going through with it? Was she just grateful for what he did at Jusendo for her? Or was so he could be cured? She knew how he felt. Even if he denied saying it, he never denied that that was how he felt. But how did she feel for him?
But Ranma knew that the problems where his to deal with. And as always, he would get no help from anyone else.
As he laid down for the night, a life time of grief, loneliness, and pain met the last years worth
of heartbreak and stress and the past few weeks of absolute terror. And, in the Darkness, the young man wept silently.
The next morning started the same as ever, or so it seemed. Ranma came flying out of his room
through the window, courtesy of his Father, Genma. If their normal sparing session over the Koi
Pond was shorter and more brutal than usual. Well, that was understandable, wasn't it? And so
what that Ranma didn't end up dunked in the pond and transformed to his cursed form. Who
could fault him THAT?
And so, as breakfast came and went, with Genma pretending to be a Panda (to hide the bruises,
though he would never admit that his son had actually HURT him), Soun set the two teenagers
down across from him for a little talk.
"*Sigh* Clearly, the wedding cannot proceed under these conditions.", he began. "As is proper,
lingering relationships should be settled before a couple can be married. So we have arranged for
the wedding to be delayed, until you can sort out your personal affairs..."
"Pay attention!", snapped Akane, "All this mostly applies's to YOU, Ranma."
Now, it must be pointed out that the Tendo-Saotome Household is not filled with the most
observant (with the notable exception of Nabiki, who had made herself scarce) or considerate of
peoples. But even they should have noticed as the normally boisterous Martial Artists didn't
respond to this comment with his usual snappy comeback.
In retrospect, this would be the day that everything changed...