Everything You Want
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Note: MAJOR OOCness in this chapter (at least in one part)! If you can't handle that, you don't have to read. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Ranma ½. It all belongs to that genius, Rumiko Takahashi. Anyway, on with the fic!
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Chapter 2
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Ryoga Hibiki stumbled down the empty street, his footsteps uneven. He was leaving the Tendo Dojo behind, and also the one girl he had loved more than life itself: Akane Tendo. 'How, how could she?' he stuttered mentally. 'How could she not l-l-love me? I, I love her more than anything!' If it came right down to it, he would gladly sacrifice a cure for his curse to save her. 'I actually did that once,' he reflected, 'even though it was mostly because of Ranma.' Suddenly, a deep anguish and the tiniest spark of rage filled him. 'Sh-she's probably in love with Ranma anyway. And Ranma's in love with her, no matter how much he denies it.' Ryoga bared his pointed fangs silently, and bristled. 'In fact, I can even hear him talking to her. Probably telling her that he loves her.' And indeed, there were the muffled sounds of voices far back behind him, and the voices were definitely Ranma's and Akane's. 'Far back behind me... yes, behind. I have no more business with them now, so it would be best if I put them behind me.'
The anguish and rage instantly gave way to a profound hopelessness; a far worse sense of that emotion than when he was lost. Except this time, there was no shining beacon of Akane to lead him through it. Ryoga's footsteps started to turn into a stagger, and he leaned on a fence for support. He grinned sardonically, and muttered mentally to himself, 'I bet I could create the best Shishi Hokkodan right now. I could even beat Ranma with it, a hundred times over.' He chuckled humorlessly, and immediately fell back into his pool of hopelessness. He told himself quietly, 'I can handle this... I think.' Ryoga's eyes lit upon the fence he was leaning on, and grasped at an idea, 'I need someone to help me get through this.' Just the mere thought of someone to help him nearly made him weep tears of joy. 'But who should I go to?' he started to ponder, when suddenly something very large crashed into him. Ryoga fell over, and when he straitened, he was quite ready to use the Shishi Hokkodan at its present power on whoever it was. He turned around, and realized with a start who it was.
"Akari?!" he shouted incredulously, staring at her in mild shock.
Akari beamed, and patted her sumo pig's head. "Yup, it's me!" she smiled cheerfully.
Her liveliness only annoyed Ryoga, causing him to feel even more depressed and slightly angry. "Akari, why are you here?" he asked, trying to buy time to think of a way to leave.
"I came here to find you!" she said happily, and gave him an award winning smile. Ryoga mentally groaned. Akari was definitely not the person he wanted to see right now. Her optimism grated his nerves at the best of times, and aggravated him to no end at the worst.
"Um, why?" he mumbled, still trying to think of an excuse to escape.
"Because I wanna take you out on a date, silly!" Akari laughed.
Ryoga froze. 'A date?! I can't! I still love Akane! Oh, no, not now! Not ever!' he screeched to himself. 'Sure, I might like her sometimes, but she's a friend! She can't be anything more!' Ryoga's head was reeling, and the pig-loving girl took this moment to ask him a question.
"Will you go with me?"
In the black-haired boy's present state, the answer came out, one hundred percent true, blunt, and unadorned. "No."
Akari's sweet face welled up with tears. "Why, Ryoga?" she wailed, while her pig glared angrily at Ryoga for turning her down.
For once, Ryoga's normally controlled mouth broke free of its chains, and said whatever came up without thinking about it. "Akari, you are a very, very close friend. But you annoy me with your cheeriness. Though you're a friend, you can't be anything more!"
Akari let loose a sob, and whispered, "I love you, Ryoga!"
Ryoga's mouth, still on the loose, answered, "You only love me because I can turn into a pig! You don't like me for me!"
Akari immediately stopped crying, and she thought about what he said. 'Maybe... maybe he's right. At first, I was forced to like him because he defeated my pig, but when I saw that he could turn into a pig himself, I loved him instantly, no matter what.... No, he is right. I.... I don't like him for who he is, only what he can turn into....' Akari looked at him, and could feel her face twist into a serious expression. She looked him straight in the eye, and whispered, feeling somewhat ashamed, "Ryoga... you're right. I only loved you because of your ability to change into a pig. Maybe I should leave... and let you find a girl who will love you for you." As soon as she finished speaking, she kneed her sumo pig around, and made him go the other way in a fast trot. As she exited, she never once looked back.
Ryoga watched her leave, stunned, and with a hand clamped tightly over his mouth, in case it ran free again. The previous events raced through his mind, and surprised him to no end. 'A-akari? Sh-she's leaving?' Dazed, Ryoga started stumbling down the endless road again, his heart ache forgotten at the moment. 'I've lost two people that I care about today!' he moaned mentally. 'I've lost Akane and Akari! It might have happened before, but only for a little while! But now, I can't see Akane anymore because of my shame, and I can't see Akari anymore because of her shame! Stupid, stupid, stupid... you always mess everything up, Ryoga!' he kicked himself repeatedly in his mind, then gave himself a punch or two just for good measure. After thoroughly punishing himself, Ryoga started to realize that he was hungry. And he saw that he was lucky enough to be in the business part of Nerima, where all the restaurants were. 'Maybe Fate thinks that I've been punished enough, and deserve a break,' he mused as he looked about at all the restaurants and food stands.
The black-haired man kept his brown eyes open, being careful not to lose sight of the buildings. With his sense of direction, he could close his eyes for a second and end up in another country, and have crossed several oceans, too.
As he wandered through the street, eyes taking in everything, yet heart crying out painfully, delicious smells assaulted his nose, which only served to remind him that he was still starving. Ryoga shoved a hand into his pack, and pulled out several coins. After counting them, he swore internally. 'Only 85 yen!' he moaned. 'Barely enough money for anything!' But fate must have been smiling on him for a single moment, because when he lowered his head in defeat, he found a 1000 yen. The young man quickly picked it up, and clenched it tightly in his fists, so he wouldn't lose it, and started browsing the stands. Ryoga mostly bought small finger foods, but combined they were more than a meal.
After Ryoga finished eating, he walked about the stalls, the hole in his heart growing larger by the second as his hunger had subsided. Now, only his iron will was keeping him from falling over in agony in front of all these people. As it was, he was already stumbling along.
The help, a quiet, detached corner of his mind whispered to him. You need help....
Ryoga frowned at himself, and thought back, 'I know I need someone... some solid pillar of sanity. But... I don't know anyone who would help me get over A-a-akane....' Thinking the name opened new wounds, and he stopped paying attention to where he was going.
And it just so happened that as he bumbled in front a doorway, someone decided that they needed to empty a bucket of soapy water. A bucket of cold, soapy water. And predictably, it hit Ryoga. "BWEE!" the little black piglet shouted in rage at the water-flinger. The man merely shrugged at seeing the furious pig, and went back inside, leaving a shivering Ryoga on the street. 'Oh, no, I can't be a pig now! What will I do? I have no where to go!' His thoughts raced about wildly like mice in a barrel, and he started sprinting down the streets, dodging unsuspecting legs and ankles. As he raced through the crowds, his mind became so muddled that he stopped being aware of his surroundings. The piglet flew through the throngs of shoppers, and he saw a large sumo pig trotting its way down the street. 'No! Not Akari, not now after I hurt her!' Ryoga shot between the larger pig's legs, and when he looked behind to make sure that he wasn't being followed, the tiny piglet crashed into the wall next to a doorway, and was stunned. A pair of athletic legs came out of the door, and stooped down close to Ryoga's little body.
"Hey, aren't you Akane's pig?" Ukyo wondered aloud.
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Author's Note: Yeah, I know this chapter is a little short. Thanks all you people who are reading and reviewing my work! And if you haven't reviewed it, please do so!
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Note: MAJOR OOCness in this chapter (at least in one part)! If you can't handle that, you don't have to read. Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Ranma ½. It all belongs to that genius, Rumiko Takahashi. Anyway, on with the fic!
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Chapter 2
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Ryoga Hibiki stumbled down the empty street, his footsteps uneven. He was leaving the Tendo Dojo behind, and also the one girl he had loved more than life itself: Akane Tendo. 'How, how could she?' he stuttered mentally. 'How could she not l-l-love me? I, I love her more than anything!' If it came right down to it, he would gladly sacrifice a cure for his curse to save her. 'I actually did that once,' he reflected, 'even though it was mostly because of Ranma.' Suddenly, a deep anguish and the tiniest spark of rage filled him. 'Sh-she's probably in love with Ranma anyway. And Ranma's in love with her, no matter how much he denies it.' Ryoga bared his pointed fangs silently, and bristled. 'In fact, I can even hear him talking to her. Probably telling her that he loves her.' And indeed, there were the muffled sounds of voices far back behind him, and the voices were definitely Ranma's and Akane's. 'Far back behind me... yes, behind. I have no more business with them now, so it would be best if I put them behind me.'
The anguish and rage instantly gave way to a profound hopelessness; a far worse sense of that emotion than when he was lost. Except this time, there was no shining beacon of Akane to lead him through it. Ryoga's footsteps started to turn into a stagger, and he leaned on a fence for support. He grinned sardonically, and muttered mentally to himself, 'I bet I could create the best Shishi Hokkodan right now. I could even beat Ranma with it, a hundred times over.' He chuckled humorlessly, and immediately fell back into his pool of hopelessness. He told himself quietly, 'I can handle this... I think.' Ryoga's eyes lit upon the fence he was leaning on, and grasped at an idea, 'I need someone to help me get through this.' Just the mere thought of someone to help him nearly made him weep tears of joy. 'But who should I go to?' he started to ponder, when suddenly something very large crashed into him. Ryoga fell over, and when he straitened, he was quite ready to use the Shishi Hokkodan at its present power on whoever it was. He turned around, and realized with a start who it was.
"Akari?!" he shouted incredulously, staring at her in mild shock.
Akari beamed, and patted her sumo pig's head. "Yup, it's me!" she smiled cheerfully.
Her liveliness only annoyed Ryoga, causing him to feel even more depressed and slightly angry. "Akari, why are you here?" he asked, trying to buy time to think of a way to leave.
"I came here to find you!" she said happily, and gave him an award winning smile. Ryoga mentally groaned. Akari was definitely not the person he wanted to see right now. Her optimism grated his nerves at the best of times, and aggravated him to no end at the worst.
"Um, why?" he mumbled, still trying to think of an excuse to escape.
"Because I wanna take you out on a date, silly!" Akari laughed.
Ryoga froze. 'A date?! I can't! I still love Akane! Oh, no, not now! Not ever!' he screeched to himself. 'Sure, I might like her sometimes, but she's a friend! She can't be anything more!' Ryoga's head was reeling, and the pig-loving girl took this moment to ask him a question.
"Will you go with me?"
In the black-haired boy's present state, the answer came out, one hundred percent true, blunt, and unadorned. "No."
Akari's sweet face welled up with tears. "Why, Ryoga?" she wailed, while her pig glared angrily at Ryoga for turning her down.
For once, Ryoga's normally controlled mouth broke free of its chains, and said whatever came up without thinking about it. "Akari, you are a very, very close friend. But you annoy me with your cheeriness. Though you're a friend, you can't be anything more!"
Akari let loose a sob, and whispered, "I love you, Ryoga!"
Ryoga's mouth, still on the loose, answered, "You only love me because I can turn into a pig! You don't like me for me!"
Akari immediately stopped crying, and she thought about what he said. 'Maybe... maybe he's right. At first, I was forced to like him because he defeated my pig, but when I saw that he could turn into a pig himself, I loved him instantly, no matter what.... No, he is right. I.... I don't like him for who he is, only what he can turn into....' Akari looked at him, and could feel her face twist into a serious expression. She looked him straight in the eye, and whispered, feeling somewhat ashamed, "Ryoga... you're right. I only loved you because of your ability to change into a pig. Maybe I should leave... and let you find a girl who will love you for you." As soon as she finished speaking, she kneed her sumo pig around, and made him go the other way in a fast trot. As she exited, she never once looked back.
Ryoga watched her leave, stunned, and with a hand clamped tightly over his mouth, in case it ran free again. The previous events raced through his mind, and surprised him to no end. 'A-akari? Sh-she's leaving?' Dazed, Ryoga started stumbling down the endless road again, his heart ache forgotten at the moment. 'I've lost two people that I care about today!' he moaned mentally. 'I've lost Akane and Akari! It might have happened before, but only for a little while! But now, I can't see Akane anymore because of my shame, and I can't see Akari anymore because of her shame! Stupid, stupid, stupid... you always mess everything up, Ryoga!' he kicked himself repeatedly in his mind, then gave himself a punch or two just for good measure. After thoroughly punishing himself, Ryoga started to realize that he was hungry. And he saw that he was lucky enough to be in the business part of Nerima, where all the restaurants were. 'Maybe Fate thinks that I've been punished enough, and deserve a break,' he mused as he looked about at all the restaurants and food stands.
The black-haired man kept his brown eyes open, being careful not to lose sight of the buildings. With his sense of direction, he could close his eyes for a second and end up in another country, and have crossed several oceans, too.
As he wandered through the street, eyes taking in everything, yet heart crying out painfully, delicious smells assaulted his nose, which only served to remind him that he was still starving. Ryoga shoved a hand into his pack, and pulled out several coins. After counting them, he swore internally. 'Only 85 yen!' he moaned. 'Barely enough money for anything!' But fate must have been smiling on him for a single moment, because when he lowered his head in defeat, he found a 1000 yen. The young man quickly picked it up, and clenched it tightly in his fists, so he wouldn't lose it, and started browsing the stands. Ryoga mostly bought small finger foods, but combined they were more than a meal.
After Ryoga finished eating, he walked about the stalls, the hole in his heart growing larger by the second as his hunger had subsided. Now, only his iron will was keeping him from falling over in agony in front of all these people. As it was, he was already stumbling along.
The help, a quiet, detached corner of his mind whispered to him. You need help....
Ryoga frowned at himself, and thought back, 'I know I need someone... some solid pillar of sanity. But... I don't know anyone who would help me get over A-a-akane....' Thinking the name opened new wounds, and he stopped paying attention to where he was going.
And it just so happened that as he bumbled in front a doorway, someone decided that they needed to empty a bucket of soapy water. A bucket of cold, soapy water. And predictably, it hit Ryoga. "BWEE!" the little black piglet shouted in rage at the water-flinger. The man merely shrugged at seeing the furious pig, and went back inside, leaving a shivering Ryoga on the street. 'Oh, no, I can't be a pig now! What will I do? I have no where to go!' His thoughts raced about wildly like mice in a barrel, and he started sprinting down the streets, dodging unsuspecting legs and ankles. As he raced through the crowds, his mind became so muddled that he stopped being aware of his surroundings. The piglet flew through the throngs of shoppers, and he saw a large sumo pig trotting its way down the street. 'No! Not Akari, not now after I hurt her!' Ryoga shot between the larger pig's legs, and when he looked behind to make sure that he wasn't being followed, the tiny piglet crashed into the wall next to a doorway, and was stunned. A pair of athletic legs came out of the door, and stooped down close to Ryoga's little body.
"Hey, aren't you Akane's pig?" Ukyo wondered aloud.
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Author's Note: Yeah, I know this chapter is a little short. Thanks all you people who are reading and reviewing my work! And if you haven't reviewed it, please do so!