"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault Ryouga."

"I could've stopped him. There is so much that I could've done. I could've jumped him; I could've find him…"

"You can't."

"I can, but I was too scared."

"It's ok to be scared. Everyone gets scared sometimes."

"Not when you're a martial artist that can demolish a whole building, not when a life is at stake. He wasn't scared..."

"…"

"I thought you'd be sadder than this."

"I am; I cried all my tears away already. I'd probably start again if I got something to drink. You do realize that you're basically leaking water when you're crying right?"

"I'm sorry…"

"…"

The continuation of the pointless fic by me

Into the Lion's Den: To live, To die, To love…

Disclaimer: Blah, just look at the last one…

I guess I should start from where it all ended. To say it's the beginning of the end is too inaccurate and clichéd, it began to end when we first fought. Where I'm going to start is merely the climax of everything that has happened.

When Ranma fought and lost the one fight that means everything to him.

I think I finally understood what Ranma fights for at that moment when Kyoko told him that she can cure him of the cat fist. Every single fault he has, every single mistake that he made; all so calculated and precise. He was a martial/con artist through and through. I guess being brought up by a father like Genma, you'll bound to learn things like this.

The time I found Ranma again, right when I dived right into him with my umbrella aimed towards his head, I think I knew something was different with him; too bad I was blinded by anger and didn't notice it. Come to think of it, I missed a lot of things Ranma did that gave him away.

I'm trailing off…

I listened to him argue with Kyoko while everyone was shouting what they think is right in their own little world. Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome yelling for him to accept the cure and join the school to make it invincible and Akane with her yell that screams for him to swallow his pride and accept the cure. I don't know which is worst, knowing that the only way my best friend will be happy is if she dives right to her death, or that my rival, my one and only friend that understands me truly can never be happy no matter what he does.

I listen to everyone and even tried to convince Kyoko not to cure Ranma. Of course, Kyoko is always stubborn and won't listen to me, just like when we were small. The only person she ever listens to are her parents, when they are teaching her about her abilities, and Ranma, but only when they are leaning on each other and smiling in a way that I've never seen Ranma smile during the time I saw him in Nerima, the calm and tranquil smile that comes straight from the soul.

I don't know what lead to this, but I do know one thing as I listen to the noise around me as Kyoko continue to argue with Ranma. Today is the day I will lose both of my friends.

It was when Ranma said the words I urged him not to say, that everything changed. Funny how the three words 'I love you' can flip the world and give it a couple thousand dribbles like a basketball in a NBA game, I never realized it can do that until that moment. Mr. Saotome instantly quiet down and gave Ranma a sad, knowing look, Mr. Tendo glaring at Ranma before settling on a neutral expression, waiting for what he says next. Akane, her expression is the most confusing. I never did manage to put an emotion on her expression, it just changed so fast.

All of us listened to Ranma talk, still facing away from Kyoko. Mr. Saotome turned away sadly and let out a resigned sigh while Mr. Tendo stood impassively. Akane started screaming again, yelling how Ranma is a big liar and shouldn't lie about dying like that.

No one believed her, and from the knowing look Kyoko as, neither did she.

I know this, but Kyoko doesn't seem to lose resolve as she heard Ranma speak, her smile grew larger and larger. Her eyes started to water so much that she had to wipe the tears from her eyes with her sleeves. Then like the prophet from heaven itself declaring the end, Kyoko spoke.

"Ranma… Look at me."

It took less than a second, not the spectacular fight that everyone would've thought Ranma would be in when he finally lost. Just one second, his eyes glazed over at the same time Kyoko's did. The two stared into each other for minutes before Akane got tired and tried to shake Ranma awake. I stopped her of course, breaking the two apart now will be even worst than the outcome that is decided already. It's better to have saved one life than to lose two right?

What I didn't realize was: my wish that I made before I realized all this, it came true...

After I left Nerima, I wandered around for a year or so. I found some of my family, we talked, we laughed, we cried; it was a very nice break from what I saw happen in the Tendo residence.

Good times never last, or so I was taught by Ranma when I saw him again.

After the year I wandered around and meeting family, I ended up back in Nerima. Nabiki was the first to greet me when I walked into the Tendo Dojo.

"Ryouga! Thank god you're here!"

"Nabiki?"

"Ryouga, have you seen Ranma?"

Ranma ran away. When he said he is giving up his art, I knew he meant giving up on the life that he has then. I never thought he would leave the only place he called home for a whole year.

"No… He ran away?"

Nabiki nodded wearily and started to tell me how Ranma disappeared after he shot the mother of all Shi Shi Hokodans.

"I was hoping you bumped into him."

"I only bumped into some of my family."

The Tendos invited me to stay for some time. I accepted of course, living on the road so much leaves you wanting a bed, or even just a futon, to sleep in. Also, I wanted to visit Kyoko, I missed her burial, when I got lost again after the last talk I had with Ranma.

Two days later, Mr. Saotome volunteered to lead me to her resting place to pay my respects. During the walk, I learnt that Mr. Saotome tried to offer his own life to appease Kyoko's parents, of course they would have non of it and Mr. Saotome ended up just helping them whatever way he could.

It was the first time I've been to Kyoko's grave. Mr. Saotome knelt down and placed a bouquet of flowers, white roses. It fits Kyoko, the roses I mean, purity, pure in the soul. I don't know why Mr. Saotome brought them, but they fit perfect.

It must be hours that we've spent in front of the Kyoko's gravestone in silence. The sun was already setting. I didn't notice when Mr. Saotome left me alone, but he did and I stayed inside this cemetery till the moon raised from the horizon.

"ryouga…"

I jumped to see Ranma standing behind me with the same sad, hopeless face I saw him wearing the last time we talked, "Ranma…"

A small smile crept onto his lips as he stared at the grave, "Kyoko…"

A cold chill shot through my body, the haunting way he said her name told me multitudes of things. But one of these things stuck in my mind, this man is not the Ranma I called my friend.

"Ryouga, what would you do to regain everything that you've lost?"

"I don't know…"

"… Can you leave us alone Ryouga…"

I nodded and left the cemetery.

Naturally I got lost trying to find my way back to the Tendo Dojo. I wandered for another year, while meeting some more of my family and I even managed to bump into my parents a few times. They were really supportive. They knew who Kyoko was and even grew to like her during the times that they manage to get back home while I was still going to school. Needless to say, they were shocked and help me cope with it.

At the end of another year of wandering, I ended up at the Tendo Dojo again. This time, Kyoko's parents were there at the doorway when I absentmindedly stepped towards the door of the Tendo family.

Just like the previous year, I stayed with the Tendos for a few days before visiting Kyoko's grave again. This time, joining me and Mr. Saotome were Kyoko's parents. From what I learnt from our conversation as we walked towards the cemetery, Kyoko's parents knew something like this was going to happen, but they didn't know how to stop it.

And just like the last year, we stood by Kyoko's gravestone silently. Mr. Saotome brought his bouquet of white roses just like last year and to add to it, Kyoko's parents added their own bouquet of Daisies.

I stayed with Kyoko until the moon was hanging on the sky again. And once again I stood alone in the graveyard mourning the passing of my one and only childhood friend when I heard his voice again.

"…r-ryouga…"

A bedraggled Ranma staggered towards the tombstone holding two flowers, an apple blossom and a yellow rose.

"You don't look too good Ranma."

"kyoko…"

"You want to join me Ranma, I'm going to set up camp around here. I have some pretty good meat I can cook up for the both of us."

Ranma looked up to me and squinted, "no… it's ok… my camp is just over there." Ranma waved his hand weakly at some direction, "thanks for the offer though…"

Without another word, Ranma disappeared again.

The third year of Kyoko's death came along. Once again I found myself in front of the Tendo Residence but this time, before I even got to knock, Mr. Saotome was already walking out of the door holding his usual bouquet of white lilies.

"I thought you won't be coming this year."

"Sorry, I kinda got lost…"

It didn't take us long after that to get to Kyoko, but what greeted us there scared us.

Ranma stood in front of Kyoko's grave stone, holding two flowers again; a single lilac and a yellow rose; with a mad grin on his face.

I don't know why, but when I saw him, I wasn't scared because I thought he has gone insane, but instead, I was scared because I saw Ranma standing there laughing as if he finally understood everything there is to understand.

Don't get me wrong, his grin is quite insane. But it's not the kind of insane where he sees things in his own little world, but insane where he just sees and understands too much and it's overloading his brain.

He turned towards us and laughed.

"Ranma… you're here."

"Hi Ryooouga." Ramna swayed from left to right like a drunkard, "I will win."

I frowned when I saw Ranma pull out a book and a knife from his pack that was on the ground beside him, "Ranma, what are you doing?"

"I will win."

Cold fear gripped my heart as Ranma drove the knife down to the hilt right on top of Kyoko's grave. An unholy light shot up from where the knife was driven down. By then, both me and Mr. Saotome instinctively got into a defensive stance, hoping Ranma has not gone mad and somehow discovered how to summon demons.

Looking back, I guess Ranma summoning demons would be better than what he did.

A figure with a black, no, not black, there wasn't any color, just an infinite void that seems empty, but there was color, like a swirl of confusing all mixing together, it was a cloak all the same. The cloak covered everything except for the large scythe the figure held.

Ranma has summoned Death's incarnate.

"It's you again; third time is a charm huh?"

Fear held me back and I think it did the same to Mr. Saotome as we watched Ranma shake in anticipation chanting 'I will win' over and over again.

"Well?"

Death's voice silenced Ranma's chanting. Everything stopped as Ranma stared defiantly into the cloak. Insane fear shone in his eyes as he tried to work his lips to form the two words he wanted desperately to say.

"… my soul…"

Death dropped his scythe and began to make an unearthly, disturbing noise that I soon realize as his twisted version of a laugh. "Why do you think I would accept that, oh tainted one?"

Ranma turned away from the figure in front of him and stared at the ground with a defeated aura about him, "… I don't know… but it's all I have now."

"I don't think you even have one oh tainted one, what is a soul without its fire? Even the most tormented of souls that I have harvested from this realm has more fire than you. Why is that? Why do you despair so much? Most importantly, why, when I have so many souls I can choose from, should I choose your soul over the millions that I can simply whisk away?"

I took a step forward towards the shivering Ranma, "Ranma…"

He looked up at me, "For her…"

"No Ranma…"

"So you do have fire; fire that burns endlessly, even if it does so weakly… very well, I accept."

"NO!"

I remember screaming, I remember being buffeted by nothing, and I remember the feeling of helplessness as I watch Ranma slowly get sucked into the ground followed by Death. I know I was knocked out. I didn't even know what hit me, I just blacked out, but I remember the feeling I got before I did; cold, slivery, dark, yet warm.

"He always needed to be a hero."

"That's why I love him."

Ryouga turned and faced his best friend, wrapping his arms around her shoulder, "I wish I could save him Kyoko, I really do."

"I know Ryouga, he was one of your best friends."

"Yeah," Ryouga closed his eyes and took his arms off of Kyoko's shoulder, "and all I did was made his life hell."

Kyoko stood and walked towards the grave stone that used to be her own, "He had his reasons; he knew what he was doing. Don't blame yourself."

"You didn't see how he looked like when he gave back your life Kyoko, You didn't see what he had become to save you."

"I saw Ryouga. I was right there, watch him so defeated, so hopeless. I was there… and I watched it all because I couldn't watch anything else…"

"Oh…"

"I'm going to stay here for a while, why don't you go home." Kyoko said staring at the grave stone.

"I'll stay with you."

"No go, I want to be alone."

"Take care Kyoko."

"Good bye, Ryouga."

Kyoko knelt down and looked at the grave stone decorated by a Red Rose and a Larkspur. Rain fell softly. Drizzles of water carpeted the girl and the grave as she picked up the Red Rose.

"Ranma Saotome, the man who lived to protect, died to love, and loved to death. May Death send your soul back someday." Kyoko read from the stone, "Why did you do it Ranma… why?"

Kyoko crawled towards the grave stone, rested her head on top of it, no tears fell from her eyes, she has cried them all away already, she just rested on the grave stone silently as rain trailed down her face, still clutching to the single rose, praying to have whatever was ripped out of her returned…

I needed a break from writing papers and stuff, and while listening to Maaya Sakamoto's Yubiwa and her vocal renderation of Jupiter (both very beautiful songs) when I thought of some of the comments I got from Into the Lion's den. The songs and the comments got me thinking, Ranma wouldn't give up so easily right? In this world of my fic, he was willing to kill someone in order to keep a reason to avoid and protect the person he really loved. What would he do for the actual person if she is in danger, or in this case, dead?

I don't know where I heard this but I wrote this fic with this on my mind "True sacrifice is not as simple as sacrifice of one's own innocents or childhood as you will lose it sooner or later especially in a world like this. True sacrifice is when you are willing to give up all that you believe in, all that makes who you are."

A dark phrase to guide a sad fic. I wouldn't say it's dark because it's more of a sad fic and not so much brooding dark.

Also the little supernatural twist I gave with Death or the physical incarnation of Death seems to fit in as Kyoko's little supernatural mind dive ended the first part of Into the Lion's den.

Still, I'm a bit disappointed by this one. I haven't run this through with my pre-readers yet, and probably wouldn't 'cause this is more of a side project than anything (even though I gave the first part to my pre-readers but that's mostly because I had time to read it over again), but I will and would probably re-write or at least give it a grammar check and repost. But most importantly, I'm disappointedbecause I'm sure this can be better… The portrayal of the characters in this one doesn't seem as deep or personal than the last one…

Anyways just a little on the side info, each of the flowers that where given to Kyoko's and Ranma's grave have a meaning to them. I don't want to go into detail on what they meant if you want, you can look them up, but basically it's a description of what I envision these characters to be like. The flowers Ranma brought to Kyoko's grave… well, he was a bit crazy then…

Anyways, Comments? Suggestions? Flames? Hate mail? Or comments on me needing to go back to elementary school to take English again? Just use that nifty little button down there