Disclaimer: Etc etc, ranma etc etc doesn't belong to me etc etc neither do AMG! characters blah blah blah
OMR SIDESTORY #3
Notes: Takes place after OMR 7
He hated strange ceilings, or perhaps just disliked ceilings altogether. After a decade of staring at the stars, a plain white piece of concrete just didn't cut it.
It was night and the ward was totally silent. Every now and then, he could hear the soft footfalls which he guessed were the nurses walking by.
Was this what hospitals were like? Strange, with a sense of coldness around them that seemed to permeate the very air? Like death?
He started guiltily as the thought crossed his mind and his eyes flicked almost involuntarily to the person sleeping in the bed next to him.
Ryouga.
His rival, the one who blamed him for everything, the one who had attacked him countless times. His friend, the one whom he had helped to school countless times, sparred with even more.
The person he had nearly killed.
The ensuing wave of guilt nearly tore him apart and he curled up on his bed, hugging his legs to himself. Not just Ryouga, but he had injured the girls as well, had wanted to hurt them, all of them.
He closed his eyes and began to remember.
---
He got up from the crater, eyes narrowed as he stared at Ryouga, cold anger burning in his eyes. The only things running through his mind back then had been to teach Ryouga a lesson, something that he would never forget and would make him remember why it was not wise to screw with Ranma Saotome.
Inside him the anger bubbled.
He had been enraged then, as Ryouga refused to go down, refuse to admit he was superior to the little pig. And the rage within him had grown.'Stupidlittlepigneverknowingwhentoquitalwaysattackingmefornogoodreasonidioticpigstupidpigpig
pigpigpig!' his thoughts ran continously, without coherence.
And then the girls had interfered in Ryouga's punishment, had tried to stop him, had betrayed him. And all there was left was the anger.
---
"Ranma?" a soft voice called to him, and he opened his eyes to see Belldandy staring back down at him, concern evident in her eyes.
"Belldandy?" he said, sitting up instantly, staring at the goddess in front of him. "What," he paused, wondering if she was really there or just a figment of his imagination. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing." Left unsaid was the fact that she was also very worried about him. She sat down on the bed beside him and continued speaking. "I tried my best to heal you, but it wasn't enough." She stopped, taking hold of his hands and holding it up against her face. He could feel the warmth from her skin spread slowly through his hand. "I was so worried you weren't going to make it."
He stared up at her, astonishment in his eyes, as he looked at the beautiful, intelligent woman in front of him, the woman who was worried for him. He had always supposed she cared for him, but he had never known the true extent of her affection till now. He had been afraid at some times, that she saw him as just another endless moment in her infinite life, just one of many humans, after all, he had been the thoughtless one who had wished her away from her home and family. But she cared for him, actually cared for him as an individual, a person.
It was probably because of that, that he found himself telling her everything.
"I nearly killed everyone, but it wasn't me," he said as he held onto her hand, looking down at his sheets and not wanting to meet her eyes. "And yet, it was me. It was as if..." he paused, trying to put what he wanted to say into words. "I don't know," he said finally, sighing. "It was a part of me, but one that didn't feel right." Or hadn't it? He wondered to himself, the taste of blood on his lips, the feel, the surge of the fighting. It was like his normal fights, only more intense. "I hurt a lot of people," he sighed, his chest tightening with remorse. "All my life, I've believed that the duty of the strong was to protect the weak, that a martial artist should always have control of his actions, and then what do I do? I end up nearly killing both myself and Ryouga, and even worse," his voice dropped to a low whisper at this, "I found myself liking it." He didn't want to have hurt people anymore, but a part of him was afraid he wouldn't be able to help it. What if one day, he even hurt Belldandy? The thought was almost too much to bear.
Belldandy stared at the young man in front of her, he was oh so vunerable that it made her heart ache to see him like this. On an impulse, she hugged Ranma, who stiffened almost immediately, before returning it tentatively, wrapping one arm around the goddess.
"Thanks," he said, feeling strangely comforted by her presence as the two of them disengaged after a while. "I needed that."
"You're welcome Ranma," she said, smiling back at him with that smile of hers that seemed to guarantee that everything would be alright in the end.
And it was then that he came to a resolution. 'No,' he thought. 'No matter what, I will never hurt you."
End
OMR SIDESTORY #3
Notes: Takes place after OMR 7
He hated strange ceilings, or perhaps just disliked ceilings altogether. After a decade of staring at the stars, a plain white piece of concrete just didn't cut it.
It was night and the ward was totally silent. Every now and then, he could hear the soft footfalls which he guessed were the nurses walking by.
Was this what hospitals were like? Strange, with a sense of coldness around them that seemed to permeate the very air? Like death?
He started guiltily as the thought crossed his mind and his eyes flicked almost involuntarily to the person sleeping in the bed next to him.
Ryouga.
His rival, the one who blamed him for everything, the one who had attacked him countless times. His friend, the one whom he had helped to school countless times, sparred with even more.
The person he had nearly killed.
The ensuing wave of guilt nearly tore him apart and he curled up on his bed, hugging his legs to himself. Not just Ryouga, but he had injured the girls as well, had wanted to hurt them, all of them.
He closed his eyes and began to remember.
---
He got up from the crater, eyes narrowed as he stared at Ryouga, cold anger burning in his eyes. The only things running through his mind back then had been to teach Ryouga a lesson, something that he would never forget and would make him remember why it was not wise to screw with Ranma Saotome.
Inside him the anger bubbled.
He had been enraged then, as Ryouga refused to go down, refuse to admit he was superior to the little pig. And the rage within him had grown.'Stupidlittlepigneverknowingwhentoquitalwaysattackingmefornogoodreasonidioticpigstupidpigpig
pigpigpig!' his thoughts ran continously, without coherence.
And then the girls had interfered in Ryouga's punishment, had tried to stop him, had betrayed him. And all there was left was the anger.
---
"Ranma?" a soft voice called to him, and he opened his eyes to see Belldandy staring back down at him, concern evident in her eyes.
"Belldandy?" he said, sitting up instantly, staring at the goddess in front of him. "What," he paused, wondering if she was really there or just a figment of his imagination. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing." Left unsaid was the fact that she was also very worried about him. She sat down on the bed beside him and continued speaking. "I tried my best to heal you, but it wasn't enough." She stopped, taking hold of his hands and holding it up against her face. He could feel the warmth from her skin spread slowly through his hand. "I was so worried you weren't going to make it."
He stared up at her, astonishment in his eyes, as he looked at the beautiful, intelligent woman in front of him, the woman who was worried for him. He had always supposed she cared for him, but he had never known the true extent of her affection till now. He had been afraid at some times, that she saw him as just another endless moment in her infinite life, just one of many humans, after all, he had been the thoughtless one who had wished her away from her home and family. But she cared for him, actually cared for him as an individual, a person.
It was probably because of that, that he found himself telling her everything.
"I nearly killed everyone, but it wasn't me," he said as he held onto her hand, looking down at his sheets and not wanting to meet her eyes. "And yet, it was me. It was as if..." he paused, trying to put what he wanted to say into words. "I don't know," he said finally, sighing. "It was a part of me, but one that didn't feel right." Or hadn't it? He wondered to himself, the taste of blood on his lips, the feel, the surge of the fighting. It was like his normal fights, only more intense. "I hurt a lot of people," he sighed, his chest tightening with remorse. "All my life, I've believed that the duty of the strong was to protect the weak, that a martial artist should always have control of his actions, and then what do I do? I end up nearly killing both myself and Ryouga, and even worse," his voice dropped to a low whisper at this, "I found myself liking it." He didn't want to have hurt people anymore, but a part of him was afraid he wouldn't be able to help it. What if one day, he even hurt Belldandy? The thought was almost too much to bear.
Belldandy stared at the young man in front of her, he was oh so vunerable that it made her heart ache to see him like this. On an impulse, she hugged Ranma, who stiffened almost immediately, before returning it tentatively, wrapping one arm around the goddess.
"Thanks," he said, feeling strangely comforted by her presence as the two of them disengaged after a while. "I needed that."
"You're welcome Ranma," she said, smiling back at him with that smile of hers that seemed to guarantee that everything would be alright in the end.
And it was then that he came to a resolution. 'No,' he thought. 'No matter what, I will never hurt you."
End
