Michael Gutin


Disclaimer: The characters of this piece of literature do not belong to me at all. I am merely leeching…er, borrowing from Rumiko Takahashi.


Happy Reply Time!

Carnath: Hey, just so you know, your review pretty much motivated me to finally write this. The reason not being so much what you wrote, but that you wrote it weeks after I posted the last chapter of my fic. It's nice to know that some people genuinely want this fic to continue, and don't just review whatever fics are at the front page.

Aondehafka: This Ranma? All right, think about any time Ranma's fought a very hard opponent. Herb, Saffron, or even Cologne. He ran in, without any plan. Most of the time several people told him he would lose. He always does this. He's as stubborn as hell, I think we can all agree on at least that. A Ranma that is dissuaded from a fight because someone told him he would lose is a horribly OOC one. About the second part of your review, I suppose Cologne is OOC, but not that much. The way I picture it for her is this. Imagine you're trying to find, say…some sort of buried treasure (Ranma marrying Shampoo). Imagine you've been searching for it for several years. You've enjoyed doing, it's been pretty fun, but you still haven't quite found it. Then all of a sudden someone hands you a map (a.k.a. the fight with Ranma which she thinks she is sure to win), showing you exactly how to get it. Then all of a sudden, your partner says you should just leave and give up for a reason that makes no sense to you(Ranma doesn't love Shampoo), I'm sure you would be quite angry. And I really doubt Cologne cares if Ranma loves Shampoo or not, if she did, she really wouldn't be pushing him and Shampoo together so hard.

TheCentauress: Actually, in the manga, which is what I generally go by, it never shows Happosai defeating Cologne, actually, I don't remember him beating her in the anime, oh well. Either way, Cologne marrying Happosai really wouldn't do much except make Cologne miserable, so I don't really see the point.

Guess that's it…for now. On with the show(story).


Sick of It


Chapter 9

Overtime


Akane sat there, staring at nothing.

"You gonna be okay sugar?" asked Ukyo.

Akane nodded.

(My….my last chance…)

She remembered all the times she had insulted Ranma. All the times she had hit him. All the times she had jumped to conclusions and blamed Ranma unjustly.

(I don't…I don't even deserve that…)

She remembered all the times Ranma had saved her. Remembered those rare occasions when he had been nice to her.

(I won't screw it up this time…I won't…my temper be damned…I won't let it win this time….never again…)

"Didn't listen to a word I said, did he?" asked Mousse.

"That's Ranchan for you," answered Ukyo, "Stubborn to the end."

"So he's gonna…lose?" asked Akane.

"Maybe not." Responded a voice.

The voice turned out to be Nabiki's.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mousse.

"I've been doing some thinking." Nabiki replied. "This time, Ranma challenged Cologne, and not the other way around, am I right?"

"Yeah…" answered Mousse.

"Well, though Ranma will always answer a challenge, how many times has he actually started one himself?"

"Hmm…"

"That's right, so if he was the one that challenged her, he must have some hope of winning, something new…so don't give up on him yet, Saotome has ways to surprise you…"

Silence filled the dojo as they all contemplated this new information.

"So…" Ukyo drawled…

"So nothing left but to watch the fight tomorrow." Finished Nabiki.


Ryoga was angry.

(She knows! Damn him, it's his fault. He showed her….damn you Ranma!)

As fate would have it, Ryoga landed right next to Tofu's clinic, and soon found himself staring at the figure of a certain pig-tailed martial artist.

(Now you die Ranma!)

He ran up to Ranma and began to swing at him.

"What do you want now pig-boy?" asked Ranma.

"Die!" Ryoga responded.

Ryoga wasn't fast enough, all his punches we're either being blocked or dodged, so he decided to use his last weapon. He summoned up all of the depression within him.

(Akane hates me now…she found out…and I always get lost…can never be as good as Ranma…just as stupid pig….I can't…can't do...anything…)

"SHI-SHI HOKODAN!"

An enormous blast of purple chi flew from Ryoga and hit Ranma, blasting him into a nearby wall.

Ryoga looked down at Ranma. "Well Ranma, what do you have to say now?"

Ranma glared at him. "Go on, kill me."

"What?"

"C'mon Ryoga, kill me now, it'll solve all your problems, I promise. Akane will all of a sudden love you, your lousy sense of direction will vanish, and a cure for the curse will just drop down from the sky."

"…"

"No really, because it's all my fault right? And killing me, that'll make it all better, won't it?"

"That's not…"

"Not true? But that's not what you've said before. It's always been my fault, 'Ranma prepare to die,' remember? So what are you waiting for? Take my life. Don't think of the consequences. I'm sure no one will miss me. After all, I'm just a sex-changing perverted freak, who's toying with Akane's heart, right Ryoga?"

"But you…"

"I never considered you an enemy Ryoga, not really. No matter how many times you tried to kill me, how many times you slept in Akane's bed, but that doesn't matter to you does it? So what's the point? You want your stupid revenge, take it. See how much better it'll make you feel."

But Ryoga couldn't do it. Not like this. He wanted Ranma to rage, to shout, to insult, anything to justify his hatred of him. But not this. So instead, he turned around and ran.

As Ryoga disappeared from sight. Ranma jumped up and continued on his way to the clinic, muttering "Heh. Didn't think that would actually work…"


Kuno was, for once in his life, deep in thought.

(How…how could they be the same. My love…and the one whom I so despise. Am I not an honorable samurai? Am I not attracted to the fiery spirits of my loves? But if so…how could my hatred of the male Ranma be justified? For truly, they are one in the same. Their actions, their words, they are identical. Their outer appearance being the one thing that is changed. Can this be the truth? That all along, it was only physical attraction that moved me to such things? That my boundless love was nothing but base lust? I…I have much to atone for…)


The words echoed in her head.

'I hate you'

(Was I that bad? I know I pulled some low tricks but…)

'I hate you'

(I guess I bothered him one too many times, used one too many potions…)

'I hate you'

(But none of that matters now, does it? It all depends on who wins the fight tomorrow…)

'I hate you'

(If only he had told me earlier, I could've changed…I could've…)

Tired, Shampoo decided to go to bed. Not that there was much else she had to do right then.

(Still…I…good luck Ranma…)

Ranma looked over the scroll one last time.

(That's it then. Everything's set. With this I'll finally be able to win. This one last fight and I'll never have to see that ugly Old Ghoul ever again.)

Ranma yawned.

(I think it's about time for me to go to sleep. Have to be well rested for tomorrow…)

And so Ranma slept.


Author's Note: Another chapter finished. Is this one short as well? Damn. Well, the next chapter, which shall be the final one, I promise will be a longer one. I know because most of the final chapter is written out, in rough draft form. I'd post it right after this, where it not for the fact that the notebook in which the final chapter is written in is currently lying in some sealed box. Why is it there? 'Cause I'm moving. This moving will involve me going without internet 'till Wednesday, at which point I shall post the last chapter.

And when I finally get back on the net, wouldn't it be nice for me to finally get 100 reviews for this story? I think it would. You guys can do that, right?

So yeah, C & C as always, and stay tuned for the amazing…well, decent conclusion to Sick of It!