Author Notes:
This is the first piece of fiction I have felt like sharing. Please Review after reading.
No need to spare my feelings, my cynical outlook on life shall protect me from any harsh words.
A Murder of Two Prologue Jusendo, Bayankala, China. It seemed so unfair. The same thought was at the forefront of all their minds. Even Shampoo, who had a definite motive to wish ill for Akane, felt it was unjust that the water was too late. Ranma had fought so hard, he had killed a *god*. Truly, the world was a cruel place not to reward such valor with success. There wasn't anything that could be said. Even Ranma was beyond words. He rocked back and forth slightly, cradling the unmoving form Akane. He sobbed uncontrollably, mumbling incoherently into her wet hair. It tore at the heart, to watch him. He grieved with the same force with which he had fought so shortly ago. Eventually his cries grew quiet. He stopped his rocking and lay still. He did not make any move to draw away from Akane, or any motion at all. It was Ryouga who finally moved forward, perhaps to offer some comfort, or to make some mournful overtore himself. It wasn't immediately obvious which, because he stopped shortly after stepping forward. The only sound he made was a choked exclamation of horror. It brushed across his skin like a gentle breeze, and left the faintest tingle in his extremities. He noticed the others react to it out of the corner of his eyes. They withdrew a little more into themselves, or the tears flowed a little more freely. None of them detected it except him. Now that he knew to look for it, it was obvious. It hung all around him like a smothering cloak, strong enough to rob him of his breath. A faint flicker of green light sparked off Ranma to skitter across the ground and disappear. No one else saw it, the others were to far away and Ranma was beyond caring. Ice danced up his spine when he realized what it meant. "Run" The first time all he could force out was a hoarse whisper past the lump in his throat. The others were trained martial artists thankfully, and turned from the tragedy to look at him. The fear on his face was easily noticeable. "We need to get of here!" This time was louder, but he still failed to convey the gut wrenching urgency he felt. That sixth sense for danger that all martial artists hoped to achieve was screaming at him, vibrating in his very bones. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. The others were looking at him like he had grown a second head. Shampoo's face was twisting into a scowl, like she was going to say something. It felt like he was moving through water as he turned back to point at the pigtailed martial artist. Ranma lay there motionless. By the time his finger lined up with his form, the green flashes where happening often enough and with enough strength to be visible. "The lion!" The words came out with enough force to be heard over the thrumming hum that started at the edge of hearing. Soon after they left his mouth, there was a loud *crack* that corresponded to a large stalactite falling from what was left of the roof. Some of the smaller pebbles strewn over the caverns floor had already started to shake and roll away from where the two kneeled. They figured it out, and everyone present who felt like living fled swiftly down the mountain as quickly as they could. He ran. Something deep inside him wanted to continue on, despite the loss of Akane. Even that great gnawing pain was driven away by his unwillingness to die. He wondered at that, even as he slid down the mountainside. he felt pain greater than anything he had ever imagined. But he knew that it wasnt his own, but rather a pale resonance of another with his ruefull nature. So he kept running, and hoped he would make it to safety in time. He turned his back on Akane, and left, and Ranma stayed. Ryouga could feel it know, the misery of his onetime rival as Ranma forced it upon the world around him. It built rapidly. He reached the bottom of the mountain, and finally began to put distance between him and the approaching cataclysm. His panicked strides ate up the ground rapidly. Finally, the feeling of gut wrenching despair slowly faded from the air around him. Almost immediately, the sense of impending doom left as well. He kept running for a short distance more just too make sure before he turned around. The mountain loomed above him. He had to crane his neck back to see the top. He stared at the crackling green tempest surrounding it. They must have ran at least five miles. Everyone else had alread fallen in a heap when he had stopped ruunning. Seeing them, the stabbing pain from his legs suddenly came to the fore, and he collapsed. "Stupid Mousse! Shampoo no need your help." Her voice was weak, and didnt seem very relevant, since the object of her belated ire was quickly sucumbing to unconciousness. Apparently he must have carried the exhausted amazon the last quarter mile after she had collapsed. Ryouga tried to force his shrieking muscles to obey his will, to sit up, perhaps so he could say something to defend the poor sap. Before he could say anything at all, the mountain of jusendo exploded. A flash of green light blinded all present, moments after a screaming wail clawed at their ears, interspersed with loud crashings of stone on stone. Gravel blasted them all, raising welts even on his skin, and deep bloody gouges on the others. Then something struck him on the head, hard. Everything faded to black. He came to, much later. Unsuprisingly he was the first to awaken. Despite his hardened body and great distance, that hellish blast had left him with a body covered in bruises and a splitting head ache. It was a feeling not too disimilar than being on the recieving end of a hiryu shoten ha. Most of the others were in much worse shape. Mousse had somehow managed to shield Shampoo from the blast, despite his already weakend state. The boys white robes were now stained red, and his back was a bloody mess. Despite this the Amazon champion had taken blow to the head from a large rock that had left a deep cut along the side of her head. Thankfully as first glance her head still seemed to be in one piece. The worthless panda, Genma had demonstrated his finely honed skills of self-preservation by findinf what must have been the only safe spot for a hundred meters. He had taken shelter in a slight depression. Despite this, he was still missing most of his fur. Since none of his comrades seemed to be in immediate danger, he finally looked towards the mountain. Rather, where the mountain had been. What remained looked like a melted candle stump, there was barely enough left to be called a foothill. Even from here, the heat that had melted the rock was still enough to make his skin tingle. There was no way Ranma could have survived that. Even if the willess state of the shishi hokko dan had spared him from the hellish energy he himself had spawned, the melting rock would have done to finish him off. "My god, its worse than Mt. Terror" *** He hadn't opened his eyes but he knew was in Heaven. That was the only possible explanation for the complete absence of pain. Even the everyday aches and pains associated with living seemed to have faded into the distance. The gaping absence at the center of his soul was gone, filled with a crimson light that he had not missed until it had been torn away. He knew what he was going to see before he opened his eyes. He was not disappointed. Leaning over his supine form was Akane, her beautiful black hair falling across her face to shade it from the setting sun. She was saying something to him, but he was too wrapped up in watching her speak for it too make any sense. "OUCH!" A stinging slap to the face served to get his attention however.