Disclaimers: I do not and will not ever own Ranma ½ in anything other than book form. All characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, not myself.
Warnings: Uhm. Shounen ai, and slightly twisted at that. There may be some language, and almost definitely some lewdness. Somewhat depressing theme throughout, I think. . . Yeah.
Notes: Mrrh. I got through the epilogue rather easily. I wasn't even planning on having that there. Sorry to all Akane fans, but it is necessary! ;; I would think that this story would go easily, but. well, we'll see. I think it's just gonna get harder from here on out. Especially when it gets past where I thought it through. . . Yea, wish me luck!
Reverberations
Ranma sat cross-legged on the roof, hoping that no one would think to look for him there. He rubbed the back of his hand across his tear stained face. The news had hit him rather hard; he liked Akane despite their arguments. He realized now that, yes, he had been falling in love with her. He wasn't quite sure what to do.
The news on the radio still drifted up to him, of a local girl allegedly incapable of swimming found dead on the shore. She had drowned, and it had not looked peaceful. Some people denied that it had been unintentional, thought that she had been murdered. Ranma, however, believed every word of it. He knew that Akane was hard-headed enough to go out and think she could force herself to know how to swim. He almost smiled, thinking of her stubborn refusal to give up. Catching himself just in time, admonishing himself for even thinking of being happy, Ranma shook his head, fighting down tears yet again. Despite her attitude, it was just. . . unfitting. It wasn't supposed to be graceful, but... he didn't know. It should have been... poetic? Dignified? Something more than it was, that was certain.
There was only one thing that Ranma felt he could be grateful for, and that was the fact that he had not known Akane any longer. It made him feel horrible to think he was happier that she had died sooner than later, but he also had the feeling that their love would have developed, and it would have been even more painful when she died. But if their relationship had developed, this wouldn't have happened! If he had just loved her more. Unbidden, the tears overflowed again, despite his valiant efforts. He should have loved her more.
Creaking sounds on the stairs to the roof startled Ranma out of his self-loathing, and he turned toward the rhythmic sounds that indicated a slow ascension of the steps. He was certain that he did not want to see anyone right now. Getting up silently, Ranma leapt over to the next roof, hopped down to the ground, and ran silently through the yards of the neighborhood. The declining sun made his now ceasing tears shimmer as they flowed off of his face. Unfocused as he was, Ranma did not see the uneven stone in his path.
Hitting the stone toe first, Ranma went plunging headfirst into a small pond, startling birds and scaring frogs out of their wits. There she sat, stunned for a moment. Then, muddy, bleeding, depressed, and undoubtedly effeminate, she burst into tears.
