Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½.
Author's Notes: I decided to try something a little different from what I usually write and this is such a story. It seemed like such a great idea that I had to set it to paper, or in this case, computer. Please be kind but any input will be appreciated. Also I am suspending work on my other story until I can get a better idea. Thank you and enjoy the show.
Accident
Prologue: The Way Things Were
It didn't have to be this way. I could be sitting in the dojo meditating or outside doing a kata right now if it hadn't been for that decision. The doctor said there was little that he could do to help me as if I didn't already know. For once something had gone wrong that was completely my choice, my decision, and no one had a hand in my downfall. I know I'm not making sense but that's to be expected with the nature of my problem. I need to get this straight in my mind and I guess going back over the accident will help.
Kasumi wasn't home this morning. She's usually there making breakfast but according to Nabiki, who was keeping Akane out of the kitchen, she had gone out to get eggs and a few other items that she needed. The mercenary was so frazzled that she offered to knock off half my debt if I went out and found her sister. Since that was a pretty sweet deal I took off as fast as I could. I figured that I had it pretty lucky that day considering who had struck such a one-sided bargain.
Finding Kasumi wasn't all that difficult for me. As far back as I can remember I could sense other people's auras and Kasumi's was the easiest to find. No one has more serenity and poise than the eldest Tendo girl. Paying me to find one of my favorite people is quite a deal. She noticed me immediately and her face brightened up in a smile. The morning was particularly bright and the sun got in my eyes. When my vision cleared I saw Kasumi crossing the street towards me. Her face was wreathed in a genuine smile. That smile was mine alone and she made sure I knew that. My face broke out into a smile but something along my peripheral vision caught my attention. The sight of a speeding truck dropped my heart into my feet. The same sunlight that had blinded me had apparently blinded the driver and I leapt into action. I could somehow sense that I was not going to make it. I may be the fastest martial artist around but I could tell that I had caught the signs too late. Kasumi turned towards the honking horn as the driver frantically tried to veer off. She seemed to be frozen in time as she saw the huge thing bearing down on her. I cried out for her just seconds before the impact and then everything went dark.
Pain beyond anything I could describe greeted me as I awoke. My eyes were assailed by a blinding light and it took me a few moments to sort out the images. I was on the operating table in an emergency room. At least that was what I gathered from the tableau as doctors and nurses ran about frantically. There must have been something wrong with my ears because I couldn't seem to hear anyone. The flurry of activity was all centered on me and it was beyond me why they were panicking. I had taken harder hits from Ryoga or Taro. Even Herb and Saffron had done more damage to me, right? The long list of people I had fought ran through my mind. Images of things I had done in the past or had done to me in the past were suddenly vivid and crystal clear. The thing that rose up in my mind was when I was leaving home. I was a small child who didn't really like to fight. Wait, I didn't like to fight? Yeah, the idea of hurting someone used to make me cringe and I could bear more pain than I had the heart to dish out. I had perfect genes that made even the most strenuous of exercise easy for me. My Pop had managed to trick my mother into letting me go with him on a training trip. The seppuku pledge was merely to get the fool to bring me home. Oh Mom if I had remembered than I never would have hidden from you! I wish I could take it all back! A strange peacefulness descended on me, but I shook it off. The activity around me increased in tempo as if they were dancing and the music was reaching a crescendo. Suddenly there was a perceived hush as they stopped. I noticed that they had out the paddles but had stopped using them. The sense of peace came upon me again but I wasn't ready to go. It just wasn't fair! No one ever said life was fair and here was the proof. No, the great Saotome was not afraid to die, but I didn't want to die! I felt my mouth open to let cry a scream of rage but the only thing that happened was I expelled my last breath and all the promise of my life with it.
And that was the moment I died.
-Kasumi's POV-
How could this have happened? It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wanted to scream about the injustice of it all but my lips refused to open. Perhaps I knew that if I gave vent to my feelings that I would start crying and never stop, but the tears did come. I had gone out early to pick up a few things that we had run out of. Since the failed wedding, Father and Mr. Saotome had taken to drinking more heavily and were never up early anymore so I figured I could sneak away and be back before anyone was the wiser. The people at the market were a little surprised to see me so early but I think it brightened their day. There was the usual harmless bantering as I selected what I needed. It never occurred to me that something might happen back at home or that Nabiki would send Ranma to come and get me. The thought of that wonderful pigtailed boy always brings a smile to my face. Seeing him across the street so unexpectedly made my heart jump with excitement. I had been thinking earlier about what he might like for breakfast but to see him like that made me smile and a wave of giddiness swept over me. All of this combined to cause the greatest tragedy since Mother died.
I had run out into the road. The light was green for me anyway so I took off across the street. He smiled when he saw me and I felt my legs propel me faster. I had almost reached him when suddenly his eyes widened in shock and stared to the right of me. Of course I turned to see what he was so fascinated with only to find that I was standing right in front of the grill of a truck. My breath left me and I found myself unable to move. A long moment passed as I contemplated death. I felt a presence beside me and knew it was Ranma. There was no one else who could move like that. I expected to be whisked away from the truck by the greatest martial artist of his generation but it didn't happen. I cried out as I felt his arms around me but that was all as a sudden explosion of pain rocked my body. The pain was just too much to bear and I felt myself lose consciousness.
I woke up to a strange clamor. I tried to rise but found that I couldn't even sit up. It just wasn't important to get up I decided as a great tiredness descended on me like a blanket. The clamor was caused by nurses and doctors hovering over, trying to stabilize me. A doctor commented that it was a miracle that I was alive but it still didn't look good. He mentioned another person brought in but he didn't make it. I wept because I knew who it was. The pain in my heart outweighed the pain in my body. I wanted to die right then and there but I thought about what Ranma would say. He would want me to live, but I had nothing left to look forward to. Mother was gone, Father was gone, Tofu-san was gone, and now Ranma was gone. The blue-eyed, pigtailed boy that made the house seem like a home again. A pain shot through my chest and I convulsively clutched the operating table. The activity increased once again and I knew what was happening. I smiled as the pain suddenly intensified. Just beyond my field of vision I could make out a faint outline. I opened my lips to call out to him but instead I felt my soul leave my body, borne on my last breath.
This was the beginning of something far greater than we could have imagined.
End Chapter
Author's Notes: Whew, hope that whets your appetite for what is to come. The journey of a lifetime lies in store for them but what does that mean when you're dead? Find out next time!