Chapter 2

Disclaimer is in Chapter 1

Ryoga sat on a musty old couch and stared at the clock. It was cruel, he thought, the fate of Ukyo. His hand shook in anxiety and he wish he had a strong drink to steady it. Every few seconds his eyes would tear up at the thought of Ukyo dying. He forgot how he got to the couch but in the hectic clinic of Tofu, he managed to call an ambulance, Ryoga remembered the bright red and blue lights painfully echoing in his head. He caught sight of Ukyo's pale face on the stretcher and half of him wanted to vomit. Then Tofu grabbed his shoulders and spoke urgently to him but Ryoga couldn't hear him, he just stared at her beautiful stone face. Tofu climbed in the ambulance and he watched it pull away. Genma, in the chaos switched forms, took his arm.
"C'mon, boy. We'll go to the hospital." Ryoga remembered the tone of his voice and the lack of emotion behind it. They walked slowly and Ryoga thought about the events.
"She's going to be ok? Right?" Ryoga partly stuttered to the old man.
"If they can get those pills out of her." Genma replied calmly. Ryoga glared at him, finding a hatred for the man. How can he be so calm when his son's best friend lay on the brink of death? How can he just be ok with it? Then Ryoga's raging anger died in him and he felt guilt take over his body, stick in his throat, causing his heart to physically ache.
"I shouldn't have let her alone. I should have paid more attention. I should have gotten there sooner." Genma firmly grabbed the boy's shirt.
"You can't blame yourself. Ukyo did what she thought was going to fix her problems. She should be thankful you found her." Ryoga let the words repeat in his head as they approached the hospital. They found a stout woman with brown hair sitting behind a desk. Ryoga let Genma do all the talking and stood back to think.
"A girl was just brought in here, Kuonji Ukyo." Genma said.
"Yes, Yuki? These people are for Kuonji Ukyo." She announced to a nurse that was looking at a chart. Yuki walked over to them and frowned slightly.
"I'm Ukyo's nurse. She just had her stomach pumped and now she's resting in recovery. Can you please come into this room?" She asked as she opened a door. Ryoga and Genma walked in and sat in two of the three chairs, Yuki took the last. "First of all, I need to clarify your relationship with the patient." Ryoga winced at the word, why couldn't they just say "Ukyo," patient sounded too final and detached, like she could die any minute. Genma spoke.
"I am the father of her best friend and Ryoga is one of her other friends. He found her, actually." Ryoga shifted under Yuki's eyes.
"I was hoping you two might know how we can contact her father, you see with these kinds of cases we really need her parents here. Do you have a phone number?" Genma and Ryoga shook their heads. "Address?" Again, they shook their heads. "Anything, a name?" Ryoga sighed and Genma spoke up.
"Ukyo never mentioned anything about parents, she kept to herself and her business."
"I understand."
"I think she has a father but I'm not sure." Ryoga's voice was raw and it felt like cotton was in his mouth as he spoke.
"This is a very delicate situation. We can't release her yet even though she can leave. Her parents must be notified and certain steps must be taken."
"I don't think we can notify them. When I met her father, he was a traveling chef and she was just a little one, to find him now would be impossible." Genma tone gave the impression that the conversation was over.
"I see. Ukyo's not an adult yet but if we cannot contact her family," she sighed loudly, "we must have someone act as her guardian-"
"She's the fiancée of my son, I guess you can consider me guardian enough. She's marrying into my family, practically my daughter." Genma spoke faster than usual and Ryoga couldn't see where Genma was going with this ploy.
"Well, we need to speak privately then." Ryoga understood this as to be his cue to leave and he stood up and slowly moved for the door. He opened it and saw an old couch and that's how he ended up where he is now. He waited for Genma to come back and explain his actions. Genma cared little for Ukyo and hardly wanted her as a daughter. Ryoga couldn't understand why Genma would even try to act as her father. Ryoga figured that he understood little and that was best left at that. He worried most for Ukyo's safety, her deathly pale face haunted his thoughts and when he closed his eyes, that was all he saw. But he remembered the nurse said she was in recovery, did that mean Ryoga could visit? He stood up and quickly walked up to the counter.
"I want to visit Kuonji Ukyo, can you please tell me what room she is in?" The lady began typing on the computer.
"She's still in recovery, the doctors say she won't be ready for visitors for another hour." Ryoga nodded.
"I'll wait."
"Visiting hours are over at nine, you will only have half an hour to visit."
"Lady, it's better than nothing." She gave Ryoga a sympathetic look.
"All right. Sign in, and I call you when she is ready." Ryoga signed a sheet with a pen attached to a chain. He sat and thought about Ukyo. He recalled that Konatsu left Nerima before Ranma and Akane's second wedding but he forgot the reason. Maybe if Konatsu stuck around, Ukyo wouldn't be so lonely. He sighed loudly, Ukyo would have been lonely with Konatsu around. She took Ranma's wedding hard, she really believed that Ranma did love her and her love was so great that she died inside. Ryoga knew the feeling all to well, he also died that day too. He didn't know if he could love again and Akari's desperate attempts to make him better failed and she gave up on him. He was lonely too and ended up wandering to keep his mind busy but that never helped. Instead, he could see Akane's beautiful face in every woman he saw. He could see that one look she reserved for Ranma in every loving couple he saw. And it ate him up inside that he not only knew what thoughts Ukyo had but also the emptiness she had. He could relate to her and in his own way, he could understand.
After watching the waiting room, trying his hardest not to stare at the people to long, the nurse called his name.
"Hibiki Ryoga, Kuonji Ukyo is ready to see you now." She called holding a clipboard. "She is in room 18 directly down the hall." Ryoga nodded and walked to the room without the concentration he usually had to get to the right place. He stopped at a light beige door and stared at the number 18 in plain black numbers. Beside the door a clipboard hung with the words "Suicide Watch" written in thick words along the mass of many other words. He slowly turned the icy knob and eased the door open without a loud creak. He slid in and stared at her face. Her lips were pale with a blue tint and all the endless life in her face was gone. Sadly, he thought she looked more beautiful on the edge of death than she was now, rotting inside flesh.
"Ukyo?" His voice was a quiet call to her. She opened her eyes slowly and stared at him for a long moment. He suddenly had the urge to grab her shoulders and shake her until either the life that was in her to return or until her torn heart left her body. When his urge subsided a new feeling of hate rose from the depths of his heart. He hated that she put him through so much when he can hardly manage life now, as it is. He hated that she wanted to end her life, a glorious being that was broken but repairs can always be made and problems fixed. Even problems pertaining to the heart.
"Jackass." She mumbled with tears falling down her sickly, pale cheeks. His breathing quickened and his head began to spin. He stumbled to the bathroom door and dropped down to the toilet and vomited loudly into it. Once he felt satisfied, he rinsed his face in the sink and wiped it off with a paper towel. When he returned to her room, she was sitting up and had a concerned look on her deathly face. Her cheeks, once soaked with tears, were dry and had a yellow tint to it that made her look even more unnatural.
"Are you ok?" Ryoga wondered why she even bothered to ask that question, clearly he wasn't.
"Fuck you, Ukyo." Was all Ryoga could reply. Ukyo shifted in the bed and turned her head away, avoiding his eye.
"Well, fuck you too, Ryoga!" She wiped away the angry tears before they could leave her eyes. "Why couldn't you just leave me to die?" She asked with her hands shaking. Ryoga grabbed the sides of her bed and lunged his face close to hers so that she was forced to look at him. He stared deep into her turquoise eyes and replied:
"I should have." Her shock turned into fury and raised her left hand to slap him. He caught her arm and held it firmly. He then squeezed as hard as he could on her arm while looking at the bandages. "Does it hurt?" His question was answered when she squirmed in agony. He released her when he saw the look of terror in her eyes. She moved back in the bed and choked on her sobs. He slowly sat close to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't struggle but rested her head on his chest. "I'm sorry." His deep voice undulated in her ears. She tried to steady her breathing so she could speak but found it difficult.
"Me too." Was all she could manage.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is kind of short. I hope the dialogue was ok enough, this story will mainly have Ryoga's thoughts.

a: Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, this couple is going to have a long hard battle with lots of struggles. In this chapter I mentioned what happened with Konatsu and Akari and why they aren't in this story. I'm really glad you reviewed and I hope you continue reading/reviewing!

Shadow's Girlfriend: Don't worry, I'll continue. Yes, I know, poor Ukyo but things only get worse for her and Ryoga. I'm not going to torture them but I don't think the relationship will work if there isn't just a bit of suffering. Thank you for reviewing.