Okay! First things first. I reached out to Ebiris and got no response – which isn't surprising since the dude has been MIA since 2003. I really liked his story which is why I've decided to do an unofficial adoption to, hopefully, bring things to a close. Finishing stories is something I've always had trouble with so I figure it'll be both fun and educational for me to attempt to wrap up a classic like this. If ANYONE has input and would like to meaningfully contribute, I would love to collaborate.

Secondly, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ A NOT SO SIMPLE WISH BY EBIRIS, then what the heck are you doing here? Go read it and then come back here to shit all over my flimsy attempt to bring it back.


Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan

A Not So Simple Ending – The conclusion inspired by Ebiris' A Not so Simple Wish

Chapter 22

During the twilight of the next morning, after waking before her camping companions, Ranko crawled out of the tent she had shared with Kasumi and slunk away silently for some alone time. The shame and embarrassment of the prior evening's waterworks still burned hotly, twisting her gut into knots and making her feel slightly queasy. Sheer stubbornness was the only thing that allowed her to channel that feeling into the motivation necessary to move her body, one foot in front of the other.

Sunlight steadily crept over the forested hills and broke through the canopy as she hiked toward nowhere in particular. She paused when she came upon a stream and decided to avail herself of the fresh water. All that crying had left her somewhat parched – her mouth feeling more like cotton than anything else. When she knelt down to scoop up some of the cool liquid, she couldn't help but catch her reflection on the rippling surface. Red rimmed eyes with bags under them looked back at her, the mirrored girl silently mocking the true self locked within. A grimace formed on that face and she looked away after a moment.

"Fuck you..." she muttered under her breath.

Her slippered feet broke the water's surface as she trudged across it's shallow depths and made her way toward the opposing side. As she crested the embankment and caught sight of a meadow through the thin lining of trees, it occured to her that the clearing was just secluded enough that she could run through one of her more advanced kata without too much risk of being disturbed.

A solo workout turned out to be just what she needed to clear her head.

With her lungs cycling fresh air and blood pumping through her limbs, she moved at a speed she'd not yet revealed to anyone in Nerima, save Happosai, and was finally able to introspect.

Had it hurt hearing Kasumi, of all people, admit what she had out loud? Yes, of course. But it was only just confirmation of a suspicion she'd long had. In a way, it was refreshing to know that the older girl wasn't above such pettiness. It helped to view the supposedly perfect Kasumi on a level removed from the pedestal she'd previously been granted. It meant defeating her in the contest of love would be that much easier since she could justify holding back just a little bit less.

To that end, she needed to figure out where she was going wrong because things were taking much longer to unfold than expected. She'd thought simply fashioning herself into her own ideal woman would nail it but, so far, there was nothing substantial to show for her efforts. Perhaps she'd not been as thorough as she'd thought in examining her own preferences.

In her former life as Ranma, the one and only time she'd made a genuine confession of love had been during the whole Saffron episode. Just trying to recall the exact details of that event stirred up some uncomfortable feelings – both about her current predicament and the way she'd been treating this world's version of the girl she'd almost tied the knot with not so long ago.

She grit her teeth, pushing her body even harder, as she dwelled on Akane Tendo.

Akane was the opposite of what she imagined to be the perfect girl. She was brutish, argumentative, psychotically violent when it suited her, built like a brick in comparison to herself, and might poison you to death if you let her within walking distance of a kitchen. She was also sweet, caring, thoughtful, and self-sacrificing when the situation called for it. Akane wore her heart on her sleeve and stubbornly refused to conform no matter how bad the consequences. In fact, she was the only girl close to her that had managed to somewhat consistently treat her like an actual person while everyone else was treating her like a means to an end. It was equal parts good and bad but it had been real and it had been beautiful.

She had just been herself. And, in doing so, she had earned Ranma's trust and eventually love.

She couldn't remember how or where, but Ranko recalled hearing that relationships couldn't grow or survive without trust as a foundation. The details didn't matter because, in her heart, she knew it was the truth.

A sinking pit opened up as she processed this information and last night's woes came rushing back in full force.

How in the hell was she ever supposed to genuinely win Ranma's love when she, herself, was the most unauthentic person in his life? She was as bad or worse than all the people that she despised combined! It was literally impossible!

Losing focus, she stumbled in the middle of a particularly difficult transition meant to transfer the momentum needed to push her into an extended aerial maneuver. She saved it by rolling into a somersault and recovering her footing, cutting trenches into the earth with her feet as she slid to a halt.

She was sucking in air, panting with exertion, when her moment was broken by an abrupt applause.

Following the sound with her eyes, she spotted none other than Ranma Saotome standing at the edge of the clearing with an expression conveying what was undeniably awe. His mouth was slightly agape and his hands seemed to be moving of their own accord. She might've felt a small amount of pride in illiciting such a reaction if it weren't for the persistent crashing waves of self-loathing smothering her spirit at the moment.

Realizing that he had been spotted, he quickly collected himself and cleared his throat before addressing her. "That was, um... just wow. I didn't know ya could do all that. I mean, I sorta suspected ya were holdin' back a little... but, damn. Guess I underestimated ya."

Ranko was silent as she watched him slowly approach. Out of the blue, she found herself wondering what would happen to him if he actually did fall in love with her only for her to disappear back to her world as soon as he was ready to settle down with her. Would losing her hurt him as much as losing Akane had hurt her?

She cursed Xiawang for creating this situation.

Ranma apparently took the silence as awkward because he carried on. "I must look like an idiot now, huh? What with all that talk about bein' the best. I, uh... should probably apologize for-"

"Don't," Ranko said, sounding more clipped than she meant to. "Its..."

"What?" Ranma asked, now within arms length.

Ranko looked into those stormy eyes and almost got lost. There was soul there. He wasn't a means to an end like she'd initially thought. He was real. Just like everyone else in this world was real. In fact, the only thing about this world that was fake was herself.

"Ranko, say something," Ranma said, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

She shook her head, suddenly finding it hard to hold back the sting of tears that was building. "I have to go. I can't do this right now," she said, sidestepping him.

"Wait," he said, grabbing her upper arm before realizing what a mistake it was.

"Don't touch me!" Ranko shouted, turning her body and pulling his arm with her. Before he could even flinch, she had him flying over her head.

Ranma was slammed, back first, into the soft grassy earth so hard that it created a two foot deep crater with the outline of his body.

As soon as she realized what she'd done, Ranko took off running at full speed and didn't stop for anything.

"Ow..." Ranma groaned from his custom made hole in the ground as he wondered why women were such a pain in the ass to deal with. "So much... for that training..."