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: Sorry of the chapters are kind of short. maybe when it gets into dialogue, it will be better. Well, this chapter is where it gets more interesting. And such. is on a writing spree pokes Howevah, now I just got back from dinner, so I may have 'disrupted the flow'. XD Well, we'll see. continuing next day Ahhhh thank you to SolarFire2 for pointing out that I put epilogue instead of prologue again. . . XD I think I was a lil' tired last night, so I missed one. Well, enjoy!
Any Comfort
Ryouga ran one hand through his hair and sighed angrily. He couldn't believe he was so helpless.
After a few weeks of wandering, he had finally made it to his own house, only to find the news of Akane's death on the radio, the news - there was even a message waiting for him on the table from Ranma. Only he would do something like that. Ryouga barely noticed that the message was consoling rather than mocking or Ranma bragging about how much closer he had been to Akane than Ryouga. The lost boy had walked away from that letter feeling better than he would have otherwise.
There was no mistaking the fact, though, that Ryouga was horribly under the weather. He, as many others, had been crying ceaselessly for a good number of days. His eyes were red and his throat was horse, so now whatever sobs managed to escape at random scraps of memory seemed more like growls. What hurt the most was that he had not been able to say goodbye. He would never know if Akane had ever considered him more than a friend. From what few hints he had, he doubted it. Even so. . . he wished that he had had a chance.
Startled out of his bleak depression by the sharp ringing of the doorbell, Ryouga jumped out of his seat. He stood frozen, confused for a moment, and the bell sounded again. He shook his head, realizing what the bizarre-seeming sound meant, and started toward the door, rubbing his eyes with one hand.
Pulling it open, he saw something he had not expected at all. Someone he didn't know stood in front of him; a girl, to be (more) precise. She looked as though she had been crying and her dark hair was slightly mussed. There was mud on her clothing, and most of what wasn't muddy shimmered damply. This prolonged consideration caused Ryouga to realize the she did look slightly familiar. He momentarily puzzled over this before noticing that the girl was speaking.
". . .friend of Akane's." She paused, shook her head. "I'm sorry, I guess. . . I was. . ." She stopped again, looking down. 'I. . . she was really close to me. I. . . I know that you. . . liked her too. Ryouga. I was wondering. . . if. . ." She looked up at him again, apparently gathering her resolve. "Do you want someone to mourn with?"
Staring silently for a moment more, Ryouga decided that he knew the girl from school. He shook his head then, what she had said sinking in. Still a bit puzzled, but feeling hospitable nonetheless, he stepped back and to the side a few steps, allowing room for her to come in. "I suppose. . . it couldn't hurt." Much.
The girl smiled a little, sadly, and walked in.
