Personal thanks:
Inuyasha: I am much more evil then you are. We won't hate you for being crazy. There are so many better reasons.
OmegaDL50: Happosai doesn't like Ranma. Why would he help him? Cologne has 3,000 years of Amazon history, but I don't know when chicken pox was originated, so they may not have a cure for the disease. The fact that Ranma caught a cold on top of his chicken pox is irony to move the story along. It is totally and completely possible. I don't think ki could heal you, because it is mostly your aura.
Leigh: I was going between rat poison and arsenic, but I decided that I didn't know how to spell arsenic and forgot about spell check. Rat poison sounds cooler too. This is not, I repeat, NOT the end of the story.
Cluehunter Karoru: *holds up a bazooka in each hand them falls over because of the weight* IT ISNT THE END! DON'T SHOOT!
Dennisud: People, if this was the ending, I would have said "The End" and thanked you all for reading it and such. I appreciate that you do and wouldn't just leave you hanging wondering if it was over.
Patirick: I usually don't put apostrophes in when I type, when I go over it Spell Check just highlights them all in green and it takes two clicks to put them in. Baffle is a good word. I should use that instead of surprised sometime.
Dacl73: She would use rat poison to kill him. Kasumi is practically his only mother for a while, and he just couldn't love her. It seems really hard for me to grasp that concept. The only one I can see Kasumi with is Dr. Tofu. Too bad he was cut out of the series after the Hiryu Shoten Ha arc.
Hobo Joe: The South Park moment was ok, I'm used to getting those at school. Many things have possessed me, you should see the things I don't type.
Solarfire2: Ryoga/Ukyo stories do get boring after a while. They always make them the same pretty much: Ryoga moves into the restaurant for one reason or another and they fall in love from there. Yeah, read it already. Got anything new? I could see Kasumi/Ryoga, since he wants a wife to protect and cook and just be sweet overall. I considered that when I was watching "The Tendo Family Christmas Scramble" OAV when they were walking to the market. They look cute together. The ride to Cape Canaveral wasn't that bad. We had to go to a memorial service. I got to see armadillos, and alligators and a bald eagle, so it was pretty cool. Oh, I saw space stuff too.
BlazeStryker: I actually expected a lot of death threats. I have my extinguisher ready. I should learn to use it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out while my feet are burning.
Kinai: Not end. The author notes would be much longer, and I would definitely let you know if it was the end. This isn't it.
Chris James: It isn't the ending. I couldn't just leave it there with unanswered questions. That would be rude of me.
Kishi: He has to go sooner or later. I guess everyone was thinking later...
Kura-kun: Yes, I suppose this is the climax. You would want to know what became of everyone, or whether Cologne got caught.
Ranma+Akane4Ever: Be my guest if you want to kill her. I'll even lend you a few steak knives if you wish. Well, I am glad I made you cry, because my daddy says that when writing makes you feel real emotions then it is god writing. I was almost crying when I wrote it myself. I'm sorry you're mad though. Was his death at least written well?
Lil washu: Cologne is laughing evilly because she knows that he has to be dead by now. She wanted to kill him. She used rat poison because it is easy to find and could have been accidental (it was also the best thing I thought of at the time).
Christie: Nope, not a nightmare. Cologne really is selfish and all she wants is for her laws to be fulfilled. She doesn't really care about Shampoo, because I'm sure if she realized Ranma and Akane loved each other, she could find some loophole that meant Shampoo could return home. I believe in resurrection, it just isn't happening in this fic. Please mallet Shampoo. Tape it and send me a copy while you're at it.
Butterfly: Cologne has a reason, but you are gonna have to guess it yourself. Digging into her psych scares me to much to attempt it. But there could be many reasons. Shampoo is technically supposed to kill Ranma and Cologne could be mad at him for not marrying her. Dunno, you choose your own.
Raye: Stay tuned, it ain't over yet! I love Ranma + Akane pairings as well and I try to convince all my friends who write fanfics to make it Ranma/Akane. They usually listen, I can be very persistent. *laughs evilly*
bittersweetKandy: You can't tell yourself who to fall in love with. How do we know who Nabiki really likes? She never has serious boyfriends in the series. She could like sweet, sensitive guys. Opposite attract and they even each other out. I remember the tunnel of lost love, but they were pretending so they could break Ranma and Akane up. I kind of feel that it would be a rebound relationship and they were just seeking comfort in each other, but didn't have any real feelings. Ukyo mostly thinks Ryoga is a jackass. Ryoga is cute with anyone. Nothing can damage that fact. He is cute alone for goodness sakes! ;)
Maura: I actually didn't see it coming until almost the very end of that chapter. It was Inuyasha's idea (he was reading over my shoulder as I typed) to make Cologne kill him, but I thought of the rat poison. Wow, I wanna see the rat poison medication. What do they prescribe that for? I usually do well on standardized tests like the SATs. In fact, in third grade, I got the highest scores in the county. All 99's (the highest) except for one 97. In my new school we take ERBs in every other grade, but still have to take the SATs for college.
Delirium's Hostage: Yes she is. But this story isn't over. 'Men with an earring make best husbands. They can take pain, and they know how to buy jewelry.' Can I use that? That is awesome and I will totally give you credit!
Sacchi: Says the woman who doesn't allow nuclear weapons to interrupt her reading. I could totally continue this without bringing Ranma back. I'm good like that. I'm going to stop telling you what goes on before I write it. Sometimes you don't know when to keep your mouth shut, but I mean that in the nicest way possible.
No need to know: Yes, that has been several others reactions as well.
Ranchan: That was so half-hearted. Yes, they will kill me. I'm prepared. Bury all my mangas and animes with me.
NekoRanma13: And if I did... Then what will you do? I don't want to know, do I?
Japanese Goth: I started reading that, but I thought Akane got too out of character. The whole 'sharing Ranma with Ukyo' thing freaked me out a bit. I stopped reading it, because I didn't like the direction it was taking.
V-chan: This is not a dream. I remember having fever induced hallucinations. Man, are those things freaky. I imagined something like a weird teeter-totter and other odd playground rides made entirely of regular shaped. Don't ask, but I can still see them in my head and this was years ago. Cape Canaveral is in north eastern Florida. It was pretty boring, except that I got to see armadillos and alligators (nothing new to a Florida native) and a bald eagle.
ChiisanaAnisa: I'm writing! I swear! I guess you will love me to death.
Dragon: She put rat poison in it to kill him. Don't ask me why she wanted to kill him. Ask Inuyasha, it was his idea. It was just my idea to have him killed. That was all I did!
Angle-chan: This might not be as soon as you hoped, but oh well. It's getting up there at least.
Chibi_Inuyasha: The rat poison killed him. Yes, poor, poor Akane. And Shampoo, and Kodachi, and Kuno and a lot of other people in Nerima. Of course there will be more chapters! I'm not finished yet!
Briguy, The Writer: *returns the bottle* Thanks, I needed that. Kodachi wouldn't use rat poison. She would be more creative and get something off the black market. That is what she uses her share of the Kuno fortune for. I'm guessing that Cologne probably got sick of Shampoo waiting so long to kill Ranma that she did it herself. She probably hates that Japan (and the rest of the world) is male dominated, and wants to go back and rule the Amazons. I would make a good Amazon, I'm a big feminist. You are probably wondering why I am guess about what happens in my story. The reason is that I didn't come up with the idea to have Cologne poison him. My friend Inuyasha suggested it, and I went with it. And, hey, Cologne cackles! Especially near her entrance into the series.
Cami-chan: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I want to point out, there will be no resurrection in this fanfic. Sorry if that burst your bubble. Read on, you still shouldn't be disappointed. I can fix anything and work my way out of any argument. Trust me, I've done it all. I'm sorry I tricked you, but please continue. Yes, I have tricked all my readers. Just finish this chapter and you may either hate me more or less. It depends on how you want to look at the situation. I actually only meant for this to be a couple chapters, but my brain was working to hard and more ideas kept popping out. I promise that if you continue to read, you will be happy. And probably really pissed at me.
The Cat Café is also referred to as the Nekohanten in some places.
Disclaimer: Insert a disclaimer here and pretend I wrote it.
Thoughts are in 'quotations'.
Anything in is a dream sequence.
Now, that was the way it COULD have happened. I could just leave it there, without anything else. Lucky for you all, that isn't the way I work. Yes, I give you all the right to kill me, but first, I must let you know that this was all Posner's idea. Now, without further ado, death threats, or flames, this is the way it REALLY happened.
"Cologne, we need you!" Akane called, holding Ranma's hand.
"What's wrong now?" Cologne appeared in the doorway two seconds later.
'How does she do that?' Akane wondered. "Ranma said he needed you."
"It's my stomach. What was in the smoothie?" His face was twisted in pain as he held his abdomen.
"Well, if you aren't used to the herbs, they could do that to you. I have something that could help, but you may have really weird dreams." The Amazon eyed the boys sweating face, and realized that she was sweltering in the heat.
"Anything. Just make the pain stop." He gasped from a sudden pang that went through the middle of his body.
"There are some in this cabinet here." She walked over to a cupboard on one side of the room, and pulled out a small pill. "Do you think you can swallow this without water, or shall I get you some?"
"Just give me the pill, you old ghoul!" He snatched it from her fingers and swallowed it. "Does that answer your question?"
"Don't get smart with me, son-in-law." She rapped him lightly with her cane. "I might not be so nice next time."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going back to sleep." Ranma rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head, intent on blocking the sunlight. 'Stupid sickness..."
It was extremely hot. Dreadfully hot. Makes you wanna burry yourself ten feet in the sand just to cool down hot. But Ranma couldn't even do that. Under the two inches of sand was a layer of concrete that was just as hot.
"Where on Earth am I? My god, I am turning into P-chan! Hello? Is anyone here? Akane? Ghoul? Shampoo? Mousse? Ukyo? Pop? For goodness sakes, I'd even go with Kuno and Kodachi!" He looked around at the desolate area. There was nothing but flat sand. Not a cactus or tree or shrubbery in sight. The sand wasn't even moving. There was no wind. What worried him most was that the sand was absolutely flat and perfect, as if nothing could ruin it, as if nothing had even stepped foot on it. Even though he just had.
"Great. Just great. Now what am I going to do? Is there anyway out of here? I wanna go home." He sat down and pondered this. "Wow. I have a home." This made him smile crookedly. "Now I only have to find a way to get out of this place!"
Suddenly he was falling. But not really. He seemed to be going downward, but it felt just as if he was suspended in air and everything was rushing past him. Different worlds, different galaxies, different universes. He knew exactly where he was in each place, but when he was gone a second later, he couldn't remember where he was.
It was sort of like his life. How he went so many places, yet almost none had any meaning to him after he left. It was just a place he had been. Somewhere on a map. It could have some significance to someone, but not to him. To Ranma it was just someplace to pass through on his long journey, one that he wasn't sure would end until he reached the Tendo's.
As he landed in their pond in the backyard, he could have shouted for joy. If he could talk. But he couldn't. His body could move, he could see, hear, but his head seemed contained in a giant ice cube. It was freezing, though the water was warm underneath him. He tried to pull the ice on his head into the water, to try to melt it, but he couldn't move. All he could do was tred water, feet not quite reaching the bottom.
All around him, he could see people that he knew. The Kunos, the Amazons, Ukyo, Ryoga, the Tendos, his parents. They were all looking at him. Laughing at him. Except for one. Akane just stood there, thoughtfully. His heart soared and he tried to catch her gaze, but it sunk to the pits of his stomach when she looked away. 'Why won't she look at me? What is wrong with these people?'
Kuno walked up to him, his sister right behind him. "Saotome, I will no longer fight you. You are not worthy of my time and effort. Long have I let you win, because I thought I should be charitable to your pathetic being. But now, our fights are but a boor to me. Do not try to challenge me. You will be hurt badly, and you have not the money to pay for medical bills or a funeral."
Kuno walked away, a superior look on his face and his nose held high in the air. He set his hand on Akane's shoulder. She flinched lightly, but did not pull away. Steam began to poor out of Ranma's ears. 'Maybe I can melt this thing with my ki!' He did his best to produce even the slightest amount of energy, but none would come. He sighed in defeat, realizing nothing would remove the burden from is head.
Kodachi laughed that horrendous laugh of her. Chills went up Ranma's spine. Not the nice chills that you get when someone may be singing pretty or something like that. Chills that make you want to ribs all the possible senses out of your body and blend them so you may never have to experience that particular feeling again.
"Ranma, you were the first man I fell in love with. Now I see what a fool I was. I only liked you because you were different then my imprudent brother, and I thought all men were the same. My obsession became unhealthy. Now I realize, that you are even worse then he is. I have found someone who will worship me for the goddess I am." A figure appeared at the gymnast's side.
'I was dumped for GOSUNKUGI???!!! This can't be happening.' Ranma didn't know whether to be happy that she wasn't going to follow him anymore, or disgusted that she chose the freaky photographer over him. He decided to feel insulted. 'I'm three times the man he is and I turn into a girl! And I at least thought she had taste, even if sanity was absent!"
The candle-wearing classmate of his gave him a revolted glance. "Now that I have the dearest Kodachi, you are no match for me Saotome. Nothing can hurt me with her at my side. You can have the witch Akane Tendo. She isn't good enough for me. But she is still in a higher class then you." He laughed, then left with his girlfriend.
Ranma would have killed him if he wasn't stuck where he was. He would have jumped up, ripped his heart out and fed it to him. 'How dare he say that about Akane?! When I'm free he WILL suffer! Hikaru Gosunkugi, I will make you regret the day you were ever born. That I vow.'
Shampoo was next. "Ranma no good husband to Shampoo. Shampoo should have killed Ranma when she had chance. Now Shampoo have Mousse. No need Ranma. Go back to China. No ever want see Ranma again." She stalked off to the plane that had suddenly appeared on the roof. If Mousse wasn't so intoxicated by his good luck, he probably would have said something. Yet, he was busy following Shampoo, ready for her every beck and call.
"Son-in-law, son-in-law, son-in-law." Cologne chuckled in amusement. "I said that you weren't half bad when I came. I was right. You aren't good in the least and are all bad. I have convinced Shampoo that you aren't good enough for a worthy Amazon like her. Mousse is a much better choice for her. Stay here with your Japanese hussies. If you even try to follow us, I will have all of the Amazon's best warriors after you. It is a suicide attempt." She followed her great-granddaughter onto the plane, which flew away a few seconds later.
All of the Tendos except Akane spoke to him afterwards. Nabiki just said he was worthless and took all the money that was in his pocket. Soun told him that he was never welcome in their home, and that he only brought tragedy upon the household. Ranma Saotome was probably the first person Kasumi ever yelled at in her entire life. Just hearing the harsh, scolding tone of her voice was worse then Ryoga's hardest punches. She decided to speak for over two hours.
Random people that he had never seen before in his life came up out of the blue to insult him. Others appeared. Classmates, townspeople, even ones from his training trips long ago. Each new person bruised his self esteem even more so, making him feel like he should have fallen into spring of drowned cockroach instead.
When his parents approached him, he wondered what his father could say now that would be different from the 'advice' he usually gave. "Son, you disgrace your father and the Saotome name. I thought I raised you to be a real man, but you are nothing but a cowardly woman." The bald martial artist began to cry and his wife patted him on the back.
"There, there, dear. It isn't your fault. He would have turned out as shameful as this reared anywhere." She looked her son straight in the eye. "From this moment on, we disown you. I would make you commit seppuku, but I don't want to see my one and true love killed. Besides, it wastes our valuable time, and I don't want to get blood all over the place." Nodoka led her still sobbing husband away, whispering comforting words in Genma's ear.
Ukyo was taking practice swings with her spatula. "You were lying when you said I was cute, you stole my cart, you pretended our engagement meant nothing, you didn't even have the heart to let me down easy, and you just strung me along: You are a pig. No woman deserves someone like you. Our female classmates are right. You are an enemy of all women. Just to show you that I am over you, I'm going to invite Tsubasa over to dinner tomorrow. Put that in your pipe and smoke it."
Ryoga had been leaning against one of the dojo's walls this entire time just listening to what others were telling him. He now approached his rival, smirking his head off. "Well, well, Ranma. Let's examine this. Everyone you trusted has abandoned you. You have no one left, nowhere to go. Maybe I can be your savior, your one last friend."
Ranma looked at him hopefully. 'Even when we fought, we still respected each other. And we are friends. In fact, Ryoga is the closest male friend I have. Maybe there is more to P-chan then I thought.'
The Lost Boy laughed. "Who am I kidding? I'm enjoying this. I live for watching you squirm. Akane doesn't deserve a half-man like you. She needs someone that will always be there for her, a man with no other women. That man is me. And when we are living happily ever after, and we see your bum butt on the street, I am going to laugh in your face. Rub salt in your wounds. This time, it will be you who has seen heck."
Ranma's eyes burned with tears of frustration and hurt. 'Why is this happening all of a sudden? Am I really this bad?' As Akane walked forward, his heart soared. 'She looks so beautiful. Please let her help me. She has always been there for me. Don't let this be any different.'
Akane began to talk. He could see her lips moving. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear a word she was saying. Water gathered in her eyes. She almost reached out to touch him, but pulled her hand back seconds before making contact. It seemed as if she was in pain, and he felt his heart tear out of his chest in her sorrow.
Ryoga and Kuno came by, and each one taking her by the arm, they gently leaded her away. As she looked back over her shoulder at him, he could see that she was crying softly and silently.
'No Akane! Please no! You can't leave me, I need you! Akane, I want you with me. More then anything else, I have to have you by my side. There is no use for living otherwise. Don't leave me here alone. God, Akane, I lo-' His thoughts were cut off as the world turned black.
A/N: Raise your hand if you want to kill me. Sorry about the lies and deception. At least Ranma isn't dead! I brought him back with no resurrection involved. Have any of you ever seen the movie Clue? If not, then that is where the idea for the different ending came from (unless they took it from someone; in that case I have no idea where it is from).
This would have been up a Friday, but I was depressed. I didn't make the softball team and there was a lot of unfairness involved in the selection. I wont get into that, but there are a lot of politics involved in how my school works. I was also exhausted because I spent eight hours plus on a bus and had to get up an hour earlier.
I hope you like this better then the first ending. I certainly do. Plus, it is a long chapter. Does it make up for my trickery? Well, decide your method for my demise, then review. Remember, originality counts! Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated. So are emails to lavendergaia@yahoo.com.
Inuyasha: I am much more evil then you are. We won't hate you for being crazy. There are so many better reasons.
OmegaDL50: Happosai doesn't like Ranma. Why would he help him? Cologne has 3,000 years of Amazon history, but I don't know when chicken pox was originated, so they may not have a cure for the disease. The fact that Ranma caught a cold on top of his chicken pox is irony to move the story along. It is totally and completely possible. I don't think ki could heal you, because it is mostly your aura.
Leigh: I was going between rat poison and arsenic, but I decided that I didn't know how to spell arsenic and forgot about spell check. Rat poison sounds cooler too. This is not, I repeat, NOT the end of the story.
Cluehunter Karoru: *holds up a bazooka in each hand them falls over because of the weight* IT ISNT THE END! DON'T SHOOT!
Dennisud: People, if this was the ending, I would have said "The End" and thanked you all for reading it and such. I appreciate that you do and wouldn't just leave you hanging wondering if it was over.
Patirick: I usually don't put apostrophes in when I type, when I go over it Spell Check just highlights them all in green and it takes two clicks to put them in. Baffle is a good word. I should use that instead of surprised sometime.
Dacl73: She would use rat poison to kill him. Kasumi is practically his only mother for a while, and he just couldn't love her. It seems really hard for me to grasp that concept. The only one I can see Kasumi with is Dr. Tofu. Too bad he was cut out of the series after the Hiryu Shoten Ha arc.
Hobo Joe: The South Park moment was ok, I'm used to getting those at school. Many things have possessed me, you should see the things I don't type.
Solarfire2: Ryoga/Ukyo stories do get boring after a while. They always make them the same pretty much: Ryoga moves into the restaurant for one reason or another and they fall in love from there. Yeah, read it already. Got anything new? I could see Kasumi/Ryoga, since he wants a wife to protect and cook and just be sweet overall. I considered that when I was watching "The Tendo Family Christmas Scramble" OAV when they were walking to the market. They look cute together. The ride to Cape Canaveral wasn't that bad. We had to go to a memorial service. I got to see armadillos, and alligators and a bald eagle, so it was pretty cool. Oh, I saw space stuff too.
BlazeStryker: I actually expected a lot of death threats. I have my extinguisher ready. I should learn to use it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out while my feet are burning.
Kinai: Not end. The author notes would be much longer, and I would definitely let you know if it was the end. This isn't it.
Chris James: It isn't the ending. I couldn't just leave it there with unanswered questions. That would be rude of me.
Kishi: He has to go sooner or later. I guess everyone was thinking later...
Kura-kun: Yes, I suppose this is the climax. You would want to know what became of everyone, or whether Cologne got caught.
Ranma+Akane4Ever: Be my guest if you want to kill her. I'll even lend you a few steak knives if you wish. Well, I am glad I made you cry, because my daddy says that when writing makes you feel real emotions then it is god writing. I was almost crying when I wrote it myself. I'm sorry you're mad though. Was his death at least written well?
Lil washu: Cologne is laughing evilly because she knows that he has to be dead by now. She wanted to kill him. She used rat poison because it is easy to find and could have been accidental (it was also the best thing I thought of at the time).
Christie: Nope, not a nightmare. Cologne really is selfish and all she wants is for her laws to be fulfilled. She doesn't really care about Shampoo, because I'm sure if she realized Ranma and Akane loved each other, she could find some loophole that meant Shampoo could return home. I believe in resurrection, it just isn't happening in this fic. Please mallet Shampoo. Tape it and send me a copy while you're at it.
Butterfly: Cologne has a reason, but you are gonna have to guess it yourself. Digging into her psych scares me to much to attempt it. But there could be many reasons. Shampoo is technically supposed to kill Ranma and Cologne could be mad at him for not marrying her. Dunno, you choose your own.
Raye: Stay tuned, it ain't over yet! I love Ranma + Akane pairings as well and I try to convince all my friends who write fanfics to make it Ranma/Akane. They usually listen, I can be very persistent. *laughs evilly*
bittersweetKandy: You can't tell yourself who to fall in love with. How do we know who Nabiki really likes? She never has serious boyfriends in the series. She could like sweet, sensitive guys. Opposite attract and they even each other out. I remember the tunnel of lost love, but they were pretending so they could break Ranma and Akane up. I kind of feel that it would be a rebound relationship and they were just seeking comfort in each other, but didn't have any real feelings. Ukyo mostly thinks Ryoga is a jackass. Ryoga is cute with anyone. Nothing can damage that fact. He is cute alone for goodness sakes! ;)
Maura: I actually didn't see it coming until almost the very end of that chapter. It was Inuyasha's idea (he was reading over my shoulder as I typed) to make Cologne kill him, but I thought of the rat poison. Wow, I wanna see the rat poison medication. What do they prescribe that for? I usually do well on standardized tests like the SATs. In fact, in third grade, I got the highest scores in the county. All 99's (the highest) except for one 97. In my new school we take ERBs in every other grade, but still have to take the SATs for college.
Delirium's Hostage: Yes she is. But this story isn't over. 'Men with an earring make best husbands. They can take pain, and they know how to buy jewelry.' Can I use that? That is awesome and I will totally give you credit!
Sacchi: Says the woman who doesn't allow nuclear weapons to interrupt her reading. I could totally continue this without bringing Ranma back. I'm good like that. I'm going to stop telling you what goes on before I write it. Sometimes you don't know when to keep your mouth shut, but I mean that in the nicest way possible.
No need to know: Yes, that has been several others reactions as well.
Ranchan: That was so half-hearted. Yes, they will kill me. I'm prepared. Bury all my mangas and animes with me.
NekoRanma13: And if I did... Then what will you do? I don't want to know, do I?
Japanese Goth: I started reading that, but I thought Akane got too out of character. The whole 'sharing Ranma with Ukyo' thing freaked me out a bit. I stopped reading it, because I didn't like the direction it was taking.
V-chan: This is not a dream. I remember having fever induced hallucinations. Man, are those things freaky. I imagined something like a weird teeter-totter and other odd playground rides made entirely of regular shaped. Don't ask, but I can still see them in my head and this was years ago. Cape Canaveral is in north eastern Florida. It was pretty boring, except that I got to see armadillos and alligators (nothing new to a Florida native) and a bald eagle.
ChiisanaAnisa: I'm writing! I swear! I guess you will love me to death.
Dragon: She put rat poison in it to kill him. Don't ask me why she wanted to kill him. Ask Inuyasha, it was his idea. It was just my idea to have him killed. That was all I did!
Angle-chan: This might not be as soon as you hoped, but oh well. It's getting up there at least.
Chibi_Inuyasha: The rat poison killed him. Yes, poor, poor Akane. And Shampoo, and Kodachi, and Kuno and a lot of other people in Nerima. Of course there will be more chapters! I'm not finished yet!
Briguy, The Writer: *returns the bottle* Thanks, I needed that. Kodachi wouldn't use rat poison. She would be more creative and get something off the black market. That is what she uses her share of the Kuno fortune for. I'm guessing that Cologne probably got sick of Shampoo waiting so long to kill Ranma that she did it herself. She probably hates that Japan (and the rest of the world) is male dominated, and wants to go back and rule the Amazons. I would make a good Amazon, I'm a big feminist. You are probably wondering why I am guess about what happens in my story. The reason is that I didn't come up with the idea to have Cologne poison him. My friend Inuyasha suggested it, and I went with it. And, hey, Cologne cackles! Especially near her entrance into the series.
Cami-chan: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I want to point out, there will be no resurrection in this fanfic. Sorry if that burst your bubble. Read on, you still shouldn't be disappointed. I can fix anything and work my way out of any argument. Trust me, I've done it all. I'm sorry I tricked you, but please continue. Yes, I have tricked all my readers. Just finish this chapter and you may either hate me more or less. It depends on how you want to look at the situation. I actually only meant for this to be a couple chapters, but my brain was working to hard and more ideas kept popping out. I promise that if you continue to read, you will be happy. And probably really pissed at me.
The Cat Café is also referred to as the Nekohanten in some places.
Disclaimer: Insert a disclaimer here and pretend I wrote it.
Thoughts are in 'quotations'.
Anything in is a dream sequence.
Now, that was the way it COULD have happened. I could just leave it there, without anything else. Lucky for you all, that isn't the way I work. Yes, I give you all the right to kill me, but first, I must let you know that this was all Posner's idea. Now, without further ado, death threats, or flames, this is the way it REALLY happened.
"Cologne, we need you!" Akane called, holding Ranma's hand.
"What's wrong now?" Cologne appeared in the doorway two seconds later.
'How does she do that?' Akane wondered. "Ranma said he needed you."
"It's my stomach. What was in the smoothie?" His face was twisted in pain as he held his abdomen.
"Well, if you aren't used to the herbs, they could do that to you. I have something that could help, but you may have really weird dreams." The Amazon eyed the boys sweating face, and realized that she was sweltering in the heat.
"Anything. Just make the pain stop." He gasped from a sudden pang that went through the middle of his body.
"There are some in this cabinet here." She walked over to a cupboard on one side of the room, and pulled out a small pill. "Do you think you can swallow this without water, or shall I get you some?"
"Just give me the pill, you old ghoul!" He snatched it from her fingers and swallowed it. "Does that answer your question?"
"Don't get smart with me, son-in-law." She rapped him lightly with her cane. "I might not be so nice next time."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going back to sleep." Ranma rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head, intent on blocking the sunlight. 'Stupid sickness..."
It was extremely hot. Dreadfully hot. Makes you wanna burry yourself ten feet in the sand just to cool down hot. But Ranma couldn't even do that. Under the two inches of sand was a layer of concrete that was just as hot.
"Where on Earth am I? My god, I am turning into P-chan! Hello? Is anyone here? Akane? Ghoul? Shampoo? Mousse? Ukyo? Pop? For goodness sakes, I'd even go with Kuno and Kodachi!" He looked around at the desolate area. There was nothing but flat sand. Not a cactus or tree or shrubbery in sight. The sand wasn't even moving. There was no wind. What worried him most was that the sand was absolutely flat and perfect, as if nothing could ruin it, as if nothing had even stepped foot on it. Even though he just had.
"Great. Just great. Now what am I going to do? Is there anyway out of here? I wanna go home." He sat down and pondered this. "Wow. I have a home." This made him smile crookedly. "Now I only have to find a way to get out of this place!"
Suddenly he was falling. But not really. He seemed to be going downward, but it felt just as if he was suspended in air and everything was rushing past him. Different worlds, different galaxies, different universes. He knew exactly where he was in each place, but when he was gone a second later, he couldn't remember where he was.
It was sort of like his life. How he went so many places, yet almost none had any meaning to him after he left. It was just a place he had been. Somewhere on a map. It could have some significance to someone, but not to him. To Ranma it was just someplace to pass through on his long journey, one that he wasn't sure would end until he reached the Tendo's.
As he landed in their pond in the backyard, he could have shouted for joy. If he could talk. But he couldn't. His body could move, he could see, hear, but his head seemed contained in a giant ice cube. It was freezing, though the water was warm underneath him. He tried to pull the ice on his head into the water, to try to melt it, but he couldn't move. All he could do was tred water, feet not quite reaching the bottom.
All around him, he could see people that he knew. The Kunos, the Amazons, Ukyo, Ryoga, the Tendos, his parents. They were all looking at him. Laughing at him. Except for one. Akane just stood there, thoughtfully. His heart soared and he tried to catch her gaze, but it sunk to the pits of his stomach when she looked away. 'Why won't she look at me? What is wrong with these people?'
Kuno walked up to him, his sister right behind him. "Saotome, I will no longer fight you. You are not worthy of my time and effort. Long have I let you win, because I thought I should be charitable to your pathetic being. But now, our fights are but a boor to me. Do not try to challenge me. You will be hurt badly, and you have not the money to pay for medical bills or a funeral."
Kuno walked away, a superior look on his face and his nose held high in the air. He set his hand on Akane's shoulder. She flinched lightly, but did not pull away. Steam began to poor out of Ranma's ears. 'Maybe I can melt this thing with my ki!' He did his best to produce even the slightest amount of energy, but none would come. He sighed in defeat, realizing nothing would remove the burden from is head.
Kodachi laughed that horrendous laugh of her. Chills went up Ranma's spine. Not the nice chills that you get when someone may be singing pretty or something like that. Chills that make you want to ribs all the possible senses out of your body and blend them so you may never have to experience that particular feeling again.
"Ranma, you were the first man I fell in love with. Now I see what a fool I was. I only liked you because you were different then my imprudent brother, and I thought all men were the same. My obsession became unhealthy. Now I realize, that you are even worse then he is. I have found someone who will worship me for the goddess I am." A figure appeared at the gymnast's side.
'I was dumped for GOSUNKUGI???!!! This can't be happening.' Ranma didn't know whether to be happy that she wasn't going to follow him anymore, or disgusted that she chose the freaky photographer over him. He decided to feel insulted. 'I'm three times the man he is and I turn into a girl! And I at least thought she had taste, even if sanity was absent!"
The candle-wearing classmate of his gave him a revolted glance. "Now that I have the dearest Kodachi, you are no match for me Saotome. Nothing can hurt me with her at my side. You can have the witch Akane Tendo. She isn't good enough for me. But she is still in a higher class then you." He laughed, then left with his girlfriend.
Ranma would have killed him if he wasn't stuck where he was. He would have jumped up, ripped his heart out and fed it to him. 'How dare he say that about Akane?! When I'm free he WILL suffer! Hikaru Gosunkugi, I will make you regret the day you were ever born. That I vow.'
Shampoo was next. "Ranma no good husband to Shampoo. Shampoo should have killed Ranma when she had chance. Now Shampoo have Mousse. No need Ranma. Go back to China. No ever want see Ranma again." She stalked off to the plane that had suddenly appeared on the roof. If Mousse wasn't so intoxicated by his good luck, he probably would have said something. Yet, he was busy following Shampoo, ready for her every beck and call.
"Son-in-law, son-in-law, son-in-law." Cologne chuckled in amusement. "I said that you weren't half bad when I came. I was right. You aren't good in the least and are all bad. I have convinced Shampoo that you aren't good enough for a worthy Amazon like her. Mousse is a much better choice for her. Stay here with your Japanese hussies. If you even try to follow us, I will have all of the Amazon's best warriors after you. It is a suicide attempt." She followed her great-granddaughter onto the plane, which flew away a few seconds later.
All of the Tendos except Akane spoke to him afterwards. Nabiki just said he was worthless and took all the money that was in his pocket. Soun told him that he was never welcome in their home, and that he only brought tragedy upon the household. Ranma Saotome was probably the first person Kasumi ever yelled at in her entire life. Just hearing the harsh, scolding tone of her voice was worse then Ryoga's hardest punches. She decided to speak for over two hours.
Random people that he had never seen before in his life came up out of the blue to insult him. Others appeared. Classmates, townspeople, even ones from his training trips long ago. Each new person bruised his self esteem even more so, making him feel like he should have fallen into spring of drowned cockroach instead.
When his parents approached him, he wondered what his father could say now that would be different from the 'advice' he usually gave. "Son, you disgrace your father and the Saotome name. I thought I raised you to be a real man, but you are nothing but a cowardly woman." The bald martial artist began to cry and his wife patted him on the back.
"There, there, dear. It isn't your fault. He would have turned out as shameful as this reared anywhere." She looked her son straight in the eye. "From this moment on, we disown you. I would make you commit seppuku, but I don't want to see my one and true love killed. Besides, it wastes our valuable time, and I don't want to get blood all over the place." Nodoka led her still sobbing husband away, whispering comforting words in Genma's ear.
Ukyo was taking practice swings with her spatula. "You were lying when you said I was cute, you stole my cart, you pretended our engagement meant nothing, you didn't even have the heart to let me down easy, and you just strung me along: You are a pig. No woman deserves someone like you. Our female classmates are right. You are an enemy of all women. Just to show you that I am over you, I'm going to invite Tsubasa over to dinner tomorrow. Put that in your pipe and smoke it."
Ryoga had been leaning against one of the dojo's walls this entire time just listening to what others were telling him. He now approached his rival, smirking his head off. "Well, well, Ranma. Let's examine this. Everyone you trusted has abandoned you. You have no one left, nowhere to go. Maybe I can be your savior, your one last friend."
Ranma looked at him hopefully. 'Even when we fought, we still respected each other. And we are friends. In fact, Ryoga is the closest male friend I have. Maybe there is more to P-chan then I thought.'
The Lost Boy laughed. "Who am I kidding? I'm enjoying this. I live for watching you squirm. Akane doesn't deserve a half-man like you. She needs someone that will always be there for her, a man with no other women. That man is me. And when we are living happily ever after, and we see your bum butt on the street, I am going to laugh in your face. Rub salt in your wounds. This time, it will be you who has seen heck."
Ranma's eyes burned with tears of frustration and hurt. 'Why is this happening all of a sudden? Am I really this bad?' As Akane walked forward, his heart soared. 'She looks so beautiful. Please let her help me. She has always been there for me. Don't let this be any different.'
Akane began to talk. He could see her lips moving. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear a word she was saying. Water gathered in her eyes. She almost reached out to touch him, but pulled her hand back seconds before making contact. It seemed as if she was in pain, and he felt his heart tear out of his chest in her sorrow.
Ryoga and Kuno came by, and each one taking her by the arm, they gently leaded her away. As she looked back over her shoulder at him, he could see that she was crying softly and silently.
'No Akane! Please no! You can't leave me, I need you! Akane, I want you with me. More then anything else, I have to have you by my side. There is no use for living otherwise. Don't leave me here alone. God, Akane, I lo-' His thoughts were cut off as the world turned black.
A/N: Raise your hand if you want to kill me. Sorry about the lies and deception. At least Ranma isn't dead! I brought him back with no resurrection involved. Have any of you ever seen the movie Clue? If not, then that is where the idea for the different ending came from (unless they took it from someone; in that case I have no idea where it is from).
This would have been up a Friday, but I was depressed. I didn't make the softball team and there was a lot of unfairness involved in the selection. I wont get into that, but there are a lot of politics involved in how my school works. I was also exhausted because I spent eight hours plus on a bus and had to get up an hour earlier.
I hope you like this better then the first ending. I certainly do. Plus, it is a long chapter. Does it make up for my trickery? Well, decide your method for my demise, then review. Remember, originality counts! Questions, comments, reactions and reviews are greatly appreciated. So are emails to lavendergaia@yahoo.com.