Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the characters. They belong to the creative genius of Rumiko Takahashi.
Note from the author: Hello to anyone reading this fanfic. I've been watching anime since I was about four years old. My first exposure being an incredible called Unico. Ranma ½ has always been one of my favorites and Ryouga Hibiki has always been my favorite character from the manga/anime. He has always fascinated me and unlike Ranma, Ryouga always seemed rather complex. This is my first fanfic so forgive me if it's rather amateur. Any reviews though both good and bad will be very much appreciated. Critiques are what make a writer's work better so flames are as welcome as good reviews. I hope that those reading enjoy the story.
The Lion and the Tiger
So this is how it ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper as the old saying goes. God I always hated that saying especially now what with the irony of it all coming back to bite me in the ass. The Hiryou Shoten Ha has finally died down and although it pains me to say it I have to admit (grudgingly of course) that that was one powerful ki attack. As I lay on my back unable to move, body numb beyond all pain I can't help but think back to the events that led me to this particular moment of my life. This moment of humiliation and utter defeat suffered at the hands of that miserable bastard Ranma Saotome yet again. Yet it is in this moment of pain and defeat that I find the time to think and hopefully one day reach clarity. And it is, as I lay here that so many of the questions that plague me fly through my head.
Why does he beat me time after time? Not just in fights but in matters of the heart as well. Why does he deserve to have such a good life while I have to survive in the pits of Hell? Kami- sama please answer me. Why can't I find happiness?
"Ranma!" My thoughts are interrupted by a high- pitched obviously feminine voice, which I instantly recognize. How could I not recognize that voice for it's the one voice I long to hear everyday of my miserable life. My beloved Akane has arrived and seeing as the fight is over there is no need for her to stand on the sidelines anymore. I can't help but smirk as I replay that thought. "My" Akane? Oh how I wish I could say that that was true but unfortunately her heart belongs to another. I can accept a physical defeat by Ranma because there will always be other matches but this kind of defeat I can't so easily recover from. A broken and defeated heart takes longer to heal than any bone. I have no choice now but to admit to myself that Akane is in love with Ranma. I suppose subconsciously I've known it for a while maybe even since I first met them who knows? Anyhow it doesn't matter for I know I've lost.
"Oh come on Akane get off me, I'm fine". Akane must be helping her fiancée with his wounds.
"Ow that hurts you stupid uncute tomboy" I hear Ranma yell which, as always is followed by the mallet upside his head. If there's one thing I certainly don't relish is getting hit by that mallet of hers. One question that always did seem to flow in my thoughts is just where that mallet of hers comes from. I mean is there some sort of alternate mallet space she just pulls it from? Better that bastard Ranma getting though than me because if there ever was someone who deserves to be beaten up on a regular basis it's that jerk. I just wish that for once it could be me. When I get lost it's not always a bad thing because it gives me plenty of time to train. Before I challenged Ranma to this present fight I trained with more intensity than even the Bakusai Tenketsu training I underwent with the old ghoul Cologne. Speed always seemed to be my weakest point as a martial artist. That's not to say that I'm slow in fact I'm faster than any other fighters except of course for Ranma. But the differences in speed are just enough to hinder me. So that's what I was training to improve while I was lost in the mountains of Nepal. It helped a lot, I was determined not to lose to Ranma this time and the fight was close I could taste victory it was within my grasp but like always it slipped through my fingers and I lost.
It's been about five minutes and feeling is just now returning to my body. Ow! My mind screams, just the act of moving my arm makes my entire body erupt in pain. If I can feel pain now though that means I should be able to get up. As I try to sit up my back cracks which I know means I'll be feeling that tomorrow. So I decide to lay back down for a little bit longer and continue to think. Self- introspection is something I've been doing a lot of lately. When one is eternally lost like I am you tend to do a lot of thinking. As long as it's not done out loud and to ones' self then it's okay. I've been very fortunate to have kept my sanity after all these years of getting lost. I don't talk to myself unless it's to yell a curse at that damned Ranma so I know I'm not schizophrenic.
"Airen is you okay? Shampoo take husband back to Nekohaten and eat ramen yes? Allow Shampoo to take you away from uncute, violent tomboy now." Bad Japanese pronunciation with a heavy Cantonese accent can only be Shampoo.
"You're not taking Ranma anywhere you stupid tramp!" Akane yells. And I can't help but say to myself, "Right on cue."
Thus the fight for Ranma's "well being" begins yet again while I'm left lying on the grass ignored by all. Hearing the struggle-taking place I decide that now's a good time to try to move again. I place my hands slightly behind my head slowly pull my legs up and back then quickly spring up. Pain just fills my entire being as my body groans in protest causing me to fall to my hands and knees.
"Need some help sugar?"
My head snaps up and I find myself looking into the face of none other than Ranma's earliest fiancée and resident Nerima okonomiyaki chef Ukyo Kunoji. It's nice to see that she's dressed like a girl wearing her formfitting fighting outfit and her hair down. Noticing just how form fitting her fighting outfit is always causes me to have a nosebleed and today is no exception.
"No thanks, I can handle it," I mutter while trying to stand and cover my nose at the same time to stop the bleeding. As I try to walk away my legs begin to give out causing me to stumble but before I hit the ground I stop. Something has stopped me and as I look to my right there's Ukyo supporting me.
"I thought you said you could handle it," she says with a smile. Funny, I never noticed before that she has a really beautiful smile. Instead of responding I ask something else that was on my mind.
"How come you're not checking on Ranma?"
At this question Ukyo drops her head and with a forlorn smile responds," He's a little preoccupied. And there are enough fiancées with him."
At this I turn my head a look to where Ranma is as see a new face has joined the group. Kodachi Kuno has arrived without my noticing and has now stuck herself to Ranma's arm and begun a tug of war match with Shampoo who has glomped onto his other arm. I move my gaze to Akane and see that she's got a murderous look in her eyes and the barely repressed rage in her shaking body tells me that a brawl is eminent. I close my eyes and begin what I've begun to call the Akane rage countdown. I don't need to see what's happening I can vividly see it all in my head. Five Akane's eyes close, four her teeth grind, three her fists clench, two she breathes in and finally one.
"RANMA YOU PERVERTED JERK," and we have lift off.
As the fight over Ranma begins I turn head away still leaning on Ukyo. Man that fight must have really taken a lot out of me if I'm still relying on her for support. Mmm, she smells really good. That makes me stop short. Now where did that come from? Then like a flash I have it. That which I was searching for all along, clarity has finally occurred. All though it wasn't exactly the clarity I was searching for it is welcome all the same. I realized the reason as to why I wasn't moving off of Ukyo was because I didn't want to. I'm comfortable when I'm with her. And for once I don't feel obligated toward Akane and wrong for noticing another woman besides her. I realize that I've been idiotic in my blind pursuit of her. In retrospect I've been a fool to pursue a girl whose love for me was only as her pet pig. She's partly the reason I lost my match to Ranma after I learned the Shi Shi Hakudon. If I had been more focused on the match instead of Akane and keeping myself emotionally hollow Ranma would never have been able to trick me like he did. Things are so clear now and yet in this clarity lay much pain and loneliness. I've realized much but if anything the hole in my heart and the hollow feeling in my stomach have gotten worse.
I sigh as I turn to Ukyo and gently release myself from her shoulder. I have a lot more thinking to do and a good deal of it has to do with this gorgeous woman beside me. Maybe it's heightened senses due to all my years of martial arts training but my gut tells me that my future and Ukyo's are tied together. As I walk back to where I threw my pack before the fight I turn my head back toward Ukyo whose looking at me with a puzzled look on her face and say
"I never noticed before but Ukyo you have an enchanting smile".
With Ukyo's blushing face the last thing I see I grab my pack and begin to walk in a random direction not caring where I'm going. And as I leave Nerima behind I feel like Siddhartha Gautama before he became Buddha, starting a journey to find peace of mind and meaning to life. Yes like the Buddha I've started down my own road toward what I hope is enlightenment. And of course I'll come back to Nerima for no matter the road it always brings me back because I won't rest until I've beaten the hell out of that rat bastard Ranma Saotome.