Disclaimer: The Nerima Wrecking Crew belongs entirely to Rumiko Takahashi. We just passed by and thought, now what if? This is a collaboration, with this chapter written by Huskyman. Hope you like it!

Words in [ ] are thoughts

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A DARK DREAMING
By: Skywatch and Huskyman

PART III. A DAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Another Part Of Nerima

Ryouga sped along on what seemed to him an endless field of despair. For the first time, he had personally witnessed a sudden change between Ranma and Akane.

[Masaka...]

Akane was the first person who had shown him pure, unreserved affection. Unlike everyone else in his life, she had never held back or shrunk away from him. She had never thought of his cursed form as pitiful or ugly. In fact, she had adopted him as her pet pig, P-chan, and he had gotten to know her in so many ways which a lot of people, including Ranma, would never understand.

With P-chan, Akane felt free to speak about almost everything, including some of her deepest secrets. She showed so much sincerity and care for the people around her that he had always found himself snorting in delight, seeing Akane's intentions were honorable. She was selfless, and it didn't matter to her who or what the person was, she just wanted to get along with everyone.

Akane was never embarrassed to have P-chan along anywhere she went. She would smile at him radiantly, introducing him to all of her friends. And even if she wasn't in a good mood, she didn't treat him differently. It was a dream come true that for the first time in his life, someone accepted him wholeheartedly.

Now suddenly, everything was crumbling before him. The day he dreaded most had come -- how Ranma had stared into Akane's round, beautiful eyes as he held onto her hands, not letting go! But what tore at Ryouga was the way Akane had returned Ranma's gaze and how she grasped his hands tightly as if she would hold on her entire life. It was one of those moments that no one, not even Ryouga, could stop.

They hadn't kissed, but the tender contact of forehead to forehead was more than enough. Ryouga wished that that was only a terrible nightmare, but it wasn't. [Curse you, Ranma!] Rage and tears filled his face. [Why, why take away the person that I love the most?]

Ryouga was beginning to realize that Akane had become, for awhile now, the center of his life. Akari, Ranma and his curse meant nothing if he lost Akane.

[I never thought this day would come.] He thought of the times he had had the chance to tell Akane how he really felt about her. [I should have confessed my feelings when I had the opportunity. How could I be so gutless? Is it too late now? Are they i-i-in love?]

With so much in his mind, Ryouga found himself lost in thought. [Why is this happening to me? W-] He tripped on a pile of rocks and fell to the ground with a loud THUD.

"Kuso!" Ryouga wasn't hurt but chose to remain lying on the ground. He kept his face buried in the dirt. After a few minutes, he finally raised his head, tears still streaking down his face, and stared at the horizon. "No..." he mumbled incoherently, "It just isn't possible. How could she choose Ranma over me?" he said, wiping the tears off his face.

The niggling thought in his head persisted. His worst fear had come true. Ranma, liking Akane. Akane, liking Ranma. The worst part was he hadn't even admitted to himself that it was possible.

The sky got darker, lightning flashed and beats of thunder roared. Ryouga struggled to his feet, his eyes narrowed. He suddenly felt the urge to release all of his frustrations ---

"The world is a dark and lonely place." His hands drew apart. A crimson aura surrounded him as a crystal blue energy ball formed in the gap between his cupped palms.

"SHI SHI HOUKODAN!!!" the Lost Boy screamed as he released his most devastating attack. It was, he instinctively knew, the most powerful chi blast he had ever formed. With a deafening boom, it lit up the whole horizon.

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Ukyou Kuonji, okonomiyaki chef par excellence, was lost in thought. She was wandering the streets of Nerima, thinking of Ranma. [I haven't seen him since school break. Wonder how he's been doing? ]

She recalled the time Ranma had called her "kawaii," the cute fiancee, and how it brought a huge smile to her face. Her anger against him had turned instantly to love.

As Ranma's childhood friend, Ukyou was confident that she had a good chance of capturing his heart. It was a sign of things to come that only the two of them called each other by affectionate nicknames. "Ranchan" was the name that she had gotten used to calling him while Ranma always called her "Ucchan."

There was also the childhood promise that Ranma made after Ukyou sealed up her sauce. "Ranchan, if the sauce tastes good, would you look after me for the rest of your life?" she had asked when she was little. Without hesistation, Ranchan had responded, "Sure!"

Unfortunately, she still had a lot of things to worry about. [Something happened in Jusendou.] Ever since then and the failed wedding, she sensed that a few things were different between Ranma and Akane. For one, they didn't fight as much as they used to. And then there was the time she caught up with them after school. They were walking side by side, so close to each other that they were only a few inches apart.

"Ranchan... why can't you be with me right now?" Ukyou sighed. [I wonder what really happened in China? Not even Shampoo will talk about it.]

A thunderous explosion and a bright burst of light interrupted her thoughts. The ground rumbled as the people around her scattered, screaming, "Run for your lives!"

"Nani?!" She unstrapped her combat spatula, looking in the direction of where the disturbance had come from. "Sounds like it came from the outskirts of the city. I better go check it out." With that, she ran as fast as she could towards the borders of Nerima. [Who knows, maybe Ranchan is there.]

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The smoke cleared, and revealed a lone figure barely able to stand. The blast Ryouga had done completely drained him of all of his strength. He collapsed bonelessly, the right side of his face taking the brunt of the fall.

"Oh Akane...," he whispered faintly, "If only you knew how I truly feel about you."

Anytime now, he knew that he would slip into unconsciousness, leaving him completely defenseless. And knowing his luck, the rain would fall and turn him into a pig. [Maybe it's for the best.] The world around him began to gray out.

Someone familiar was moving towards him. His weakened senses told him that it was a woman. She was shouting something indistinct. [Could it be?] "A-Akane? Aka-" He tried to rise to meet her, but the effort was just too much for him to handle and he slipped into semi-consciousness.

"Ryouga!" The voice was full of concern. The girl went down on her knees and placed a cool hand on his forehead. "You jackass, what have you done now?"

[I know that voice... Ukyou.]

"Well, at least he's still alive. Baka!" Ukyou sighed in relief. "What the hell happened here anyway?" She surveyed her surroundings. The ground was pockmarked with huge, deep holes. The faint acrid smell of smoke was still in the air. "This was definitely Ryouga's doing."

She remembered the time when Ryouga sort-of rescued her from Sarutoru, the monkey man at Prince Toma's island. Sarutoru's special attack, "Shadow Fall", had the power to make someone think that their worst fears were coming true through the use of illusions. Unfortunately for Sarutoru, he had no idea of the consequences of using his technique on Ryouga.

[He never did say what those hallucinations were.] her thoughts wandered. [I wonder if it could it have been...?] She knew Ryouga was hopelessly in love with Akane. [I guess that explains it.]

"This one was even more powerful. I wonder... did Akane dump him or something?" she said to herself, thinking of the possibilities.

Ukyou carefully moved Ryouga so that his head was cradled on her lap. For a while, she just stared at his face. [I can't help wishing that this was Ranchan right now.] "Well sugar, I can't just leave you here." She strapped her spatula on her back. "I owe you one, anyway." Ukyou finally got the unconscious Ryouga on his feet. She braced herself, getting him off the ground in a piggyback position. "Jackass! This'll probably give me a sore back."

Ryouga, in his semi-conscious state, was embarrassed, and yet... [Domo arigato, Ukyou-san.] It was his last coherent thought.

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The young martial artist was having a dream --- or at least he believed he did. Dim faces, flashes of light and the murmur of unknown voices surrounded him. He drifted along an empty space, feeling trapped.

A voice bade him to come to his senses, and it was something he had to obey. He forced his eyes open.

A figure, blacker than the surrounding darkness, stood before him. A hood shrouded its face. "What are you doing, Ryouga?" it asked in unearthly tones that sent a chill throughout the boy's body. "What have you done with your life?"

Ryouga found himself speechless. He could only stare at the stranger.

"Tell me... what is it that you truly wish to accomplish in your life? Do you want to become the best martial artist in the whole world? Do you want to get rid of your curse?" The dark-robed figure continued, its voice maintaining the same even tone. "Or perhaps you want... Akane?"

Ryouga blinked upon hearing the last question, but he merely lowered his head and remained silent.

The figure removed its hood, revealing an alabaster-pale face that was both familiar and terrifyingly strange.

"O-otousan?" Ryouga stumbled in shock.

His father's face was set in anger and judgment, an expression that Ryouga had feared throughout his childhood. Otousan's disappointment in him was now displayed for all to see. "Look at yourself, boy! Not only do you lack a sense of direction but a direction in life as well!"

"Otousan... please h-help me," As if he were still a small child, Ryouga stretched out a hand in supplication to the towering figure. "I c-can't lose her."

"Face facts boy," the older man snapped. "You've already lost her."

Ryouga could only stare in disbelief.

"Didn't you just see for yourself? Akane already loves someone else." his father continued.

"No, I'll never believe that! Akane could never love someone like Ranma!" Ryouga's tone was defiant.

"Did you really think that you had a chance at all?" Otousan shot back at him. "In the end, she always ran to him, did she not?"

Ryouga could only close his eyes.

"Who does Akane call when she's in trouble? Who holds Akane's attention during special occasions? And more importantly, for whom has she always risked her life for?"

Images rose in flames before Ryouga.

"Ranma!" Akane screamed as she was being taken away by Kirin and his followers, and again, as Toma and his henchmen grabbed her.

Ranma and Akane fighting the eight-headed Orochi together. Akane, leaping to intercept the Kinjakan in Jusendou for Ranma's sake and disappearing.

Akane, rushing past Ryouga at the Christmas party, not even noticing him because she was looking for Ranma.

The last was the cruelest cut of all. During a duel with Ranma, Akane had turned to Ryouga, and told him that she liked him... as a friend.

"NO!" Ryouga reeled as image after image of the horrific truth flashed before his eyes. [Ranma! Why does it always have to be Ranma?]

But his father was pitiless. "Even in Akane's dreams, Ranma exists. Do you remember the time when you were training Akane? Tell me, was it your name that she whispered in her sleep?"

"Aaaahhh! Make it stop!" Ryouga begged.

"Poor Ryouga, as pitiful as a pig. It's so pathetic that you never saw it coming," the shadowy figure mocked. "Oh... and by the way, have you ever wondered what Akane would do if she discovered your secrets?"

[Secrets?] Ryouga was momentarily confused by the plural term.

A wide-eyed black piglet with a yellow bandanna tied around its neck hovered in the air in front of him. Akane appeared right beside him. They were at the Tendo household near the koi pond. "Come on P-chan, let's give you a hot bath." She picked him up, and carried him towards a small tub of warm water. P-chan shook violently as the inevitable happened. SPLASH! A man suddenly erupted from the tub, completely naked.

"You... you traitor!" Akane fumed as she stared at Ryouga.

"A-Akane, wait I can explain!" It was all that Ryouga could say before Akane's fist sent him crashing through a solid wall.

"Gaaaahhh!" Ryouga screamed, finding himself once again face-to-face with his father.

"Akane will never learn to accept the fact that the person she considered a good friend and her pet pig are one. She would think that from the very beginning, you sought to take advantage of her. Come to think of it, who wouldn't?"

"No... it's not like that! I never meant it to be that way." Ryouga denied vehemently.

A devious smile was on the face of the older man. "You betrayed her, and you say that you love her?"

Ryouga dropped to his knees and bowed his head. "It's... it's over... I have nothing left to live for."

His father grimaced in exasperation. "Listen to yourself, still blaming the world for all of your woes! Even with all your strength, there is no way you will be able to change what is already done. And if up to this day, you still cannot learn to accept the truth, then you are not worthy to be called a Hibiki."

"H-how could you say that to me?" The Lost Boy was indignant.

"I am only being honest, nothing more. If you continue to be as stubborn as you are now, then you will never learn to acknowledge your other secret, deeper and darker though it may be."

"W-w-what other secret? What are you talking about?" Ryouga demanded.

"Why Ryouga, it's a secret that deep inside, you've known about all these years. In fact, it's one of the main reasons why you're drawn to Akane... and Ranma too."

In the distance, there was a loud eerie cry that was hideously inhuman.

"Shall I tell you, my son? Haven't you guessed it yet? You are a man born without a soul, and so you must torture those around you to live." Ryouga's father smiled as he said the words, flashing his own unusually sharp teeth.

In his mind, Ryouga screamed in horror.

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Hi folks! Huskyman here. This chapter is my first fanfic so please be nice. :-) Sorry the update took a while.

To everyone who reviewed, thank you very much. They were really helpful.

ashes: thank you for pointing that out. chapter 2 is now tag-free.
niana: close... very close.
OO: sometimes weird things happen. :-) We're not sure yet if this will be an R/U fic in the strict sense of the word, but they will be together for the next couple of chapters. After all, Ryouga still has a lousy sense of direction... I'll stop there because I don't want to give the next chapter away.