Btw. Rereading Just won't die... It's a good idea... It helps. Dunno why.
Koijini
Chapter Three: Lonely With You
The first thing she felt was awarness. She could feel. She couldn't feel anything in particular, just the feeling of non-moving air. Therefore she wasn't exactly sure that she was actually using this sense.
Then came vision. It wasn't actually vision as she was in pitch black but somehow her eyes had adjusted so now instead of being completely black she could see the out-line of absolutely nothing. Therefore she wasn't exactly sure that she was actually using this sense.
Next came her sense of taste. Considering she could tell she was tasting absolutly nothing she was never sure if she was actually using this sense.
Then came her sense of smell. However, because there was absolutly nothing for her to smell she was never exactly sure she was actually using this sense.
And finally, came her hearing. This was the only sense that she was sure she had the capability of using. She walked forward, somehow moving forward, but felt absolutly nothing touching her feet.
Then feeling came. She felt her feet on solid ground and she trudged around in the dark. She was weary and weak but she walked forward to nowhere in particular. Not thinking... or doing... anything.
Then came the pain.
An inner pain that started in her chest and expanded to engulf her body and soon her entire system. It began inside her chest. She clutched it as if it were a temporary heartache. But then the pain seeped into her stomach. She grabbed both and twisted her skin furiously, hoping to keep her insides, in.
The pain flowed steadily downward into her legs, much like a thousand tiny bruses on every cell of her body.
"No... Agg! " She thought.
She slumped to the ground, hopelessly trying to keep moving.
"NO! I don't wanna die... not like this... not.. not like..!" She cried.
She fell to the floor, flat on her stomach, screaming in pain and agony. For about fifteen minutes she yelled and moaned... writhing around like a snake on the floor. Then, slowly her writhing tuned down to a low twitch... then just a few fidgets... her eyes began to close... the pain began to fade as she was consumed by the power of her killer. Her vision... which was not seeing anything in the first place, completely began to fade, however, instead of becoming black... she saw a small white light... far in the distance.
"No... stop... I.. don't wanna die like this... Damn Ranma... how could I do this to me?"
The light came closer and grew to the size of a softball in her vision, getting larger and larger until, at last, she felt her eyelids drop completely shut and felt as the last sense of feeling left her body... and she felt no more.
It was raining... Ranma Saotome sat in the rain, enjoying himself. It had been a light rain and it would surely end soon. It was the first time in almost two years that he could truly enjoy himself in the rain.
He was free. Finally free of constantly dodging water. Free of fearing old ladies and ladles. Free of cat tongue curses and mirror reflections of himself coming to life.
He was finally cured.
It didn't do one thing to ease the feeling in his gut that he was missing something. That something had gone wrong. But he didn't think too much about it. He was FINALLY cured! And... it was all thanks to Happosai?
...Awkward... though since Happosai was the one to have re-bestowed on him his manhood Ranma almost felt bad about never letting Happosai see him in a bra just once. Almost. Also considering it wasn't his body in the first place.
It would've made the old perverts day. Hell... it would've made his next three years.
But who would've known Happosai to be such a nice person?
Oh well.
Akane walked out and called up.
"Ranma! You've been up there for almost an hour now! Your going to catch a cold! Get in!" She cried.
She'd started to get worried about Ranma again. She liked the rain to some extent. But this was insane! The idiot loved the rain!
He had been out in it since it had started, ten minute after he had cured himself.
Akane had stayed with him for almost ten minutes. She got down and asked if he was coming. He replied that he wanted to wait in the rain... to enjoy it like he hadn't been able to.
After one hour she was worried. Two hours and almost midnight she came out.
"Allright, Just.. gimme one more minute." Ranma said.
"Ranma! It's not like it will never rain again! Come on!" She cried, and then rushed back inside to the dry warmth of the living room.
Ranma was left alone again. And while alone he thought on something that had been itching the back of his brain.
"This rain... isn't right. It shouldn't have lasted this long." He thought. He looked up into the sky and just as he did so, lightning flashed.
It was no ordinary lightning flash. It flashed in a shape. The shape of a human face... a face with wild hair, wrapped into an untidy pigtail. Undoubtably female.
The enourmous blast of thunder that nearly rocked Ranma off the roof seemed to moan in protest.
Some of the water dripped into his mouth as he was rocked off balance. He spit it out like it was venom.
"This.. isn't water! This is ... tears! What the hell!" Ranma cried.
The lightning face flashed again. This time, however, an enourmous water droplet that was released at the exact same time of the flash far in the air, made it look like the face was crying.
The wind picked up and this time, Ranma was thrown off the house. He landed roughly on the muddy ground below him but quickly regained his footing. This was no ordinary storm. It was as if the heavens themselves were lashing out at Ranma being cured.
The sky moaned more. It was as if it was in pain. Agonizing pain. The faced flashed again.
That was it... the sky wanted her back. It wanted the girl that it so loved... it wanted to have her back. She was dead now... and the sky mourned the passing of it's one and only pleasure.
The lightning flashed yet again. This time.. it was the entire body of the girl form Ranma had once ocupied. In amazing detail.
She lay on the ground... motionless... and lifeless.
The rain howled on.
The door suddenly swung open. Ranma faintly heard the words of a news reporter as he informed the public.
"A freak Rainstorm has begun. It is one of the strongest storms the world has seen since Andrew hit America almost five years ago! Everyone needs to get inside there houses immediately!
"RANMA! GET IN HERE QUICK! IT'S A HURRICANE! HURRY!" Akane cried.
Ranma looked around and suddenly realized that the rain tasted like rain again. He looked at the sky. And while no one else knew, he shed one tear for the girl, whos body he had abdicated.
He ran inside quickly. He liked the rain... but he wasn't a fan of tearstorms.
"As abruptly as the freak storm began, it stopped... however that's not all that was awkward about the rainstorm. There are quite a few people who were directly beneath the clouds who saw the lightning. It was in the shape of a human girl who seemed to be in extreme pain. We also have many witnesses claiming that the rain was undoubtably NOT rain. Most of them have said that the rain tasted like tears! Therefore this abrupt storm has been named Tearstorm."
This was the first thing she heard when she awoke. She tried to open her eyes when she somehow realized that they were allready opened. She tried to close them.
They closed just as they normally would. The only problem was... she could still see.
She found herself sprawled on the Tendo living room floor.
She felt nothing whatsoever. She stood, and her feet stood on nothing. She touched the wall, and felt nothing.
The door burst open.
"Taidama!" Akane called into the house.
"Akane!" She asked anxiously.
Akane completely ignored her.
"Well if anyone needs me I'll be in my room!" Akane cried. She bounded around the table and up the stairway to her room. Never noticing the girl.
"Akane?" She repeated, this time confused.
As Akane disappeared up the stairs she felt a small sense of dread.
"Akane?... what kind of joke is this? Why are you ignoring me?" she asked, loud enough that Akane should be able to hear it in her room.
No response.
She walked up the stairs and entered Akane's room. The door had been left wide open.
Akane sat at her desk, apparently doing homework it seemed. Possibly just studying.
"Akane? Whatcha, doin?" She asked.
Once again she was completely ignored.
"AKANE!" She yelled.
Nothing.
She began to hallucinate. "What's happening. Is this some dream? A dream where people can't see or hear me?" She asked herself.
She took her left hand and pinched her right shoulder.
She sat in shock. She felt it. The finger that was her own. In the space her shoulder should be occupying. Her shoulder that should be solid.
She looked down at herself.
And screamed.
Akane sat at her desk doing her homework. She had just gotten home, but apparently no one was there. "Ranma's probably out flaunting his manliness now or something like that. Hmm, oh well. I guess he deserves it. He's a full guy again." She thought.
She then began to focus on her work. Though for some reason she had an awkward feeling that someone was watching her. No wind blew or anything but somehow... the hair on the back of her neck was cold and stiff.
Suddenly a soft high pitched noise entered her ear. It was a sweet little noise, somewhat like a continuous bird trill. But then it got louder.
It increased in volume till it was a slight annoyance... then slowly it became louder and louder untill all she could hear was the screaming of what sounded like a young girl.
She flung herself from her chair onto the bed and slammed her hand over her ears. However, the scream only got louder.
She let out her own scream and the hellish sound in her ears disapated instantly.
She breathed in and out, her heart rate moving as fast as ranma's punches.
"What the hell was that...?" She gasped. Nothing bothered her until her family got home hours later, however, the embrace of a guilt ridden person seemed to be all around her.
She felt uncannily warm.
She caressed Akane trying to sooth the pain she knew she had caused. She didn't know what she had done. But whatever it was, Akane could hear it. The second she stopped screaming Akane stopped rolling on the bed. She used whatever she could to try to comfort Akane but the effort seemed to be in vain. Akane simply returned to her original state of being, if not a little bit edgy.
"I'm... I'm... I'm a ghost? I'm dead? No... if I were dead why would Akane have been so cheerful?" She thought.
And suddenly a figure appeared at Akane's door.
"Yo 'kane? Could you PLEASE help me with my homework!" Ranma begged from her doorway.
"You idiot! Do your own homework! I have to finish mine!" Akane cried.
"Ranma.." She stared... hoping and praying that she wasn't seeing what she thought she saw. Suddenly, a bucket of cold water came flying out of Akane's hands. It was just about to hit her when suddenly.
WOOSH!
It flew straight through her, fully splashing Ranma.
A still male Ranma.
"No... NO NO NO! That was.. that was me... I was... I WAS RANMA!" She cried.
She ran to the male form of herself and slammed her fist into his face, sending her careening through him and into the hallway floor, only to sail through that as well till she finally stopped and landed face first in the furo.
She huddled into a ball underneath the water, hearing Ranma and Akane's conversation perfectly through the water which no longer had any effect on her hearing.
"The potion wasn't supposed to do this! It was supposed to cure me! CURE ME!" She cried.
Ranma and Akane were laughing. Laughing at the fact that the water had no effect on him. That he had been freed.
They were laughing at her..
Tears came to her eyes. Small, insignificant tears... but tears none the less. And for the first time since she was six, they traveled down her face. She tried to wipe her eyes... but then she found... that even her tears were transparent.
"I'm just a copy? Just a DEAD copy... why? It wasn't supposed to do this... I, Akane..." She whispered. "Then what am I? Who am I? What is my name, if Ranma is still Ranma..."sniff".
They continued laughing. She knew it was unreasonable to blame them. But she felt anger at their laughter about her plight. Especially that body stealer, Ranma Saotome.
They stood and left the room. She rose from the bath tub and entered the room. Sobbing on Akane's bed.
For hours she lay crying. And finally, when she felt she had nothing more to cry about. She decided.
"Akane... I know I'm just a copy... just a mirror reflection.. a ghost... but... I have to do it. I'll stay, Always with you." She whispered.
She left the room, to begin her quest to stay forever by her love's side.
Ghost was born.
"AH Ranma my boy! How have you been these last couple of days you've been free of your curse? Enjoying yourself?" Happosai asked incredulously, bouncing around as per normal. "By the way it's been terrible weather we've had. That storm? Almost bad enough to hinder my rounds!"
"It's GREAT! I havn't felt so free since.. well since I was fifteen! Never having to watch out for water anymore... not being a freak anymore... Thanks again Jijii." Ranma beamed, almost completely missing the letch's second comment.
"Hmm... but I will miss Ranma-chan... I wonder how she is now?" He asked, looking up at the sky.
"Huh? What do you mean she? My girl form?" Ranma asked.
"Yes of course... I wonder if she is in heaven now. Or if her spirit just returned to the spring to be imprisoned again. Or perhaps she's watching over us?" Happosai commented.
Ghost slammed her fist through the old man.
"Jackass. What do you think, I"m doing!" She yelled angrily.
"Hmm, well, I hope she went to heaven, if there is a heaven." Ranma replied. He stood and walked away to find some food... or possibly some more water to test.
"YOU ASSHOLE! I BET YOU KNEW THIS WAS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN ALL ALONG! CHIKUSHO! I TRUSTED YOU YOU PERVERTED LETCH!" Ghost cried as she sent her fist through the old man's head hundreds of times as fast as she could.
Happosai turned and looked toward the sky.
"Hmm... My beautiful Ranma-chan... please forgive me... it was all in Akane's interest... you understand don't you! You wouldn't want her to marry some sex-changing freak would you?" Happosai yelled angrily.
"I'M NOT A FREAK!" She screamed.
"Ugh... Happi! What is done is done.. She's dead now, so Akane-chan can finally be happy! ... I just wish I could tell if Ranma-chan would've said it was the right thing... I hope she didn't feel too much pain..." Happosai told himself.
Ghost teetered and wobbled a little until suddenly she fell flat on her rear.
"He... He knew I would die?" She thought. "He.. murdered me... so Akane wouldn't have to deal with Ranma's curse, he MURDERED ME! DAMN YOU HAPPOSAI" She cried.
Not a living soul witnessed the distraught girl's fury. Though as Happosai walked away he did feel a cold chill flow down his spine.
Two hours later, Ghost sat contemplating Happosai's actions.
"I am... I'm a freak curse to Ranma. Happosai... I... I would've done the same thing... I almost still respect you Happosai. But.. Why did... I have to die...?" She asked the old man who sat smoking his pipe looking at the sky.
"Ah! What beautiful weather! Perfect time for a "Silky Darling Liberation Spree!" Happosai cried as he bounded away.
"Respect is gone..." Ghost thought.
Ghost lay on the couch, watching the television with Akane on the ground. Akane was transfixxed with the movie, and Ghost, while somewhat bored, was mildly intrested. Considering she couldn't just change the channel.
"Yo kane'! Aww, why are you watching THIS CRAP!" Ranma cried entering the room.
"Crap! This is one of the best movHEY! CHANGE THAT BACK!" Akane cried as she realized Ranma had snatched the remote as usual. "Oh wait.. this is good, too."
"Greedy Jerk, Ghost thought. "He doesn't even realize what people give up for him. He should at least act like he likes her a little!"
"Hey... do you... wanna do something tonight?" He asked.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Well... I was thinking we could train a little. It's been two days since i've done any actual training because pop is too mad to fight me and i've been celebrating." He said.
Ghost's face heated. "Yeah celebrating a funeral, JERK!"
"I dunno... I guess I could. I've got nothing better to do tonight." She replied.
Ranma lay down on the couch above Akane and turned the TV off.
"Allright Akane, lets go then." He said.
"Not now! I was watching that!" She cried as she snatched the remote back and pressed power.
"Hey now!" He replied and once again retreived it from her hands.
"RANMA!" She cried. She lunged for the remote but it was moved to his other hand. She then sent out several jabs, starting slow at first and picking up speed until her hands blurred with unholy speed.
"Still not fast enough Akane." Ranma said confidently.
"Hmph. I'll show you! Katsuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" She cried.
And suddenly it was once again in her hands.
Ranma blinked. And blinked again. Then he looked at his hands and then at the television which Akane had again fixated her eyes on.
"Uh... wow. Didn't know you'd... learned that."
"Anything goes Ranma!" She smirked.
Ranma stood and walked up to his room, twitching his head, trying to figure out how the fact that she had learned his technique had slipped passed him.
"I taught her ki blasts and control... I didn't teach her that..." He muttered to himself.
"Hmph! If you'd been paying attention you would have realized that that was the first time she's ever tried it! Didn't you see how bad she hurt her hands! Can't you even tell! She can't move her hands that fast yet! The pressure crushed them! Go and get her some bandages or something!" Ghost screamed, knowing that she would have been doing the exact same thing were she in his place.
Akane grasped her hand the second Ranma made it up the stairs.
"DANG THAT HURT!" She thought. "Why? I don't understand... all I did was send ki into my arms and hands and move them as fast as he does... Why did it hurt so much?" She asked herself.
She burried her hand in a pillow trying to coat the pain. It wasn't so painful that she couldn't deal with it but... it was annoying.
Ghost walked back downstairs. Knowing fully well that she wouldn't be able to comfort Akane, she settled for watching her and hoping she got help. Ghost knew the pain recieved from a pressure accuired wound. The skin would split and begin to blister and later turn blue with what appeared to be bruises.
She figured that Ranma would remember this soon. She knew that she would, were she in his place.
"Akane!" Ranma cried as he appeared at the top of the stairs. He bounded down them and landed near her on the couch.
"Akane, have you ever done that technique before?" He asked anxiously.
"Well... no..." She replied trying to hide the pain of her hand, which currently was burried under a pillow.
Ranma yanked her arm out of the pillow and looked at her hand.
"Akane.. you do realize that is going to hurt like hell for about a month right?" He asked.
"WHAT!" She cried.
"Tomboy, why do you think I avoided teaching it to you? The pressure will split the skin and bruise it. Didn't you see my hands when I learned it?" He asked.
"I thought that was just from the burns!" She cried.
Ranma chuckled, "Baka, Akane..."
"Shut up.." Akane pouted. She thought about punching him in the face... but then thought again when her fist erupted into pain when she clenched it.
"Akane... hmm... lets go talk to Kasumi," Ranma said in an exhasperated voice.
Akane glared at him before conceeding the need to get rid of the pain in her hand. It was rising somehow.
"Well... thanks Ranma." She said as she entered Kasumi's abode, also known as the kitchen.
Ranma lay back against the couch and put his hands behind his head.
Ghost watched him, curiously. "Do I always look like that?" She thought. "No... no... I never looked that happy." She thought.
"TAIDAMA! WERE HOME!" Akane called out.
"RANMA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER! IT'S 11:30!" Soun cried.
"Uh... I've.. brought her home on time?" Ranma asked hoping Soun would see reason.
"ON TIME! ON TIME! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOME AT 11:30!" He cried.
"But... thats what I just.."
"NO BUTS YOUNG MAN! WE-"
"DADDY! SHUT UP!" Akane cried.
"She yelled at me! WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Soun cried.
"Sorry, Daddy!" Akane yelled, "But you leave me no choice!"
A Soun shapped hole decorated the ceiling.
Ranma and Akane looked at each other.
"Eheh heh." The both laughed nervously at the same time.
"Well, Akane-chan? Same time tomorrow?" Ranma asked.
"Wouldn't miss it Ranma," Akane smiled.
The walked up to their rooms, kissed quickly, and then went into their rooms and went to bed.
"Wow... their getting along so well now... without me." Ghost thought. "I guess... I really was the only thing that was in the way."
Suddenly she heard a sound from Nabiki's room.
She sauntered in. She'd heard this sound often enough and it was about time she found out what it was.
Chaching! Chaching! Chaching!
The sound repeated itself. Ghost looked at Nabiki curiously when she realized the sound was coming from the girl herself. Upon closer inspection, ghost realized that Nabiki's eyes were litterelly, reeling dollar signs, and were actually creating the cash-register sound.
"Perhaps... I'm not the only one that was in the way." She thought.
It had been two months since she had become a ghost. She had watched them both, Ranma and Akane. The had begun a nightly dating ritual. A new place every night. Dance clubs, training, dinners, training, movies, traning, and then a little more training. Every night they were successfully attacked by at least one but usually multiple rivals.
And every night, the rivals were soundly defeated. By both of them together. Akane had even stood up for Ranma when Ryoga attacked him once, which Ranma was amazed for. Of course they ignored her and still fought... but poor Ryoga had not appeared again since.
Ghost had watched all of this. It had been a long time since she had talked with someone. She became an observer. A spectator, serving absolutly no purpose whatsoever. She began to question her reason for staying her. To search for a way to leave the limbo she had been forced into.
She found that, certain people could sense her. Cologne especially. She love to scare Cologne.
But she still hoped that one day she would be able to speak with her about how she had gotten stuck as a ghost, and how to move on.. to stop all the aching she felt whenever she watched Ranma and Akane. As they became closer and closer... slowly forgetting about her very existance.
"I don't understand... there are people everywhere. But... I am lonely even with her here."
"TAIDAMA! WERE HOME!" Akane called out.
"RANMA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER! IT'S 11:00!" Soun cried.
"Uh... I've.. brought her home on time?" Ranma asked hoping Soun would see reason.
"ON TIME! ON TIME! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOME AT 11:00!" He cried.
"But... thats what I just.."
"NO BUTS YOUNG MAN! WE-"
"DADDY! SHUT UP!" Akane cried.
"She yelled at me! WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Soun cried.
"Sorry, Daddy!" Akane yelled, "But you leave me no choice!"
A Soun shapped hole decorated the ceiling.
"Akane-chan...?" Ranma asked.
"Yeah, Ranma?"
"Does this.. seem familiar to you?" He asked.
"Not at all, why?" she asked.
"Nothing, just a little Dejavu." He replied.
"Hmm... are you ok?" She asked.
She reached a hand out to feel his head, but he turned and rushed to the end of the hallway, quickly.
"Ranma!" She cried.
"I'm fine!" He replied.
"Allright, then. I was just a little worried." Akane told him.
"Well... thanks, Akane-chan, but I'm fine, really." Ranma returned.
"Ok." She consented.
They sat for a moment, watching the moon from the front room. A little while later, they kissed again. And went to sleep.
"I love you. Akane-chan." Ranma whispered as he entered his room.
"Ditto." Akane replied.
He smiled.
Ghost smiled too. She remembered the first time Ranma had said that officially. It was the most awkward way. She had expected it to be when they were alone. But no. He said it when Shampoo had insulted Akane's looks. She had done it many times before and it still confused Ghost why Ranma reacted this time. Apparently it had just been a straw that had broken the camels back.
Flashback-
"Airen! What you doing with too too violent girl?" Shampoo asked suddenly, appearing in the door of the restaurant.
"Shampoo!" Ranma cried, surprised as he jumped out of the booth.
"Airen, Shampoo save you from violent girl! This place much to cheap for airen. Airen needs good food from Nekohaunten!" Shampoo cried in a bubbly tone as she latched onto Ranma's arm and began to drag him.
"Ugh... Shampoo! Look I really don't..." Ranma began.
"Ranma! Why are you letting that hussy hang all over you!" Akane cried.
"Akane I'm trying to.." Ranma began again.
"Violent girl shut up! Why you so mad? You no stand chance with Ranma anyway. Airen needs girl who's body not built like brick!" Shampoo cried.
Ranma slammed his hand down on the table, splitting it in half. He shoved Shampoo onto the floor and loomed over her angrily.
"Allright! That does it! Shampoo! I'm SICK of you! I'm sick of you making Akane angry at me! I'm here with her. NOT YOU! I asked AKANE to come here! I'm sick of your and everyone else getting between me and her! What give you the right to say things like that? Shampoo! I love Akane! And this will not change! Either you live with it. Or I will not have anything to do with you. Ever. Come on Akane. Lets go." Ranma said angrily.
Akane followed him quickly.
Shampoo sat on the floor, crying.
Ghost applauded Ranma. She didn't, however, even expect him to have noticed what he had said.
"Ranma..." Akane asked.
Ranma was walking a little faster and ahead of Akane.
"Akane why do you always blame me? Blame me for letting Shampoo hang on me? I didn't want to hurt her like that... but.. I have no choice anymore." Ranma said as his anger faded.
"I.."
"I've successfully managed to break Shampoo's heart. I've never liked her. But, I hated doing that back there. Unfortunantly, you left me no choice. Because, I love you. Not her, not Ukyo, and not anyone else. I'm sick of you being mad at me for things other people do... please give me the benefit of the doubt more often? So I dont' have to hurt so many people that are tied to me?" he asked.
"Ranma...? You... Did you just say...? Uh... yeah... yeah.. o.. ok.! I will! I promise!" Akane answered.
"Thanks Akane-chan." Ranma said.
They continued walking towards the dojo.
"Ranma?" Akane asked.
"Hmm?"
"I love you too." Akane said. She was surprised by the ease at which the words flowed off her tongue.
As Ghost watched this... she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of jealousy.
"Damn! That should be me... Damnit! He stole her from me! She was mine! I'll kill him!" Ghost thought.
Suddenly her anger subsided.
"What the... what the heck just happened to me?" She thought. Moments ago she was jealous enough to kill Ranma, and then it just faded. She still felt lingering envy though.
"Ranma. I'll be loved by her too! I swear, she will love me too! No matter what it takes!" Ghost cried.
Ranma just smiled at Akane. Happy that they finally had it out in the open. Oblivious to the emotions of the ghost beside him.
End Flashback
Ghost's Quote: Being lonely doesn't mean you are alone. But if you are alone, you will inevitably be lonely.
