Ryoga stomped through the trackless forest, flashlight in hand and guiding the way, cutting through the darkness. Ranma was passed out, snoring quietly. The stupid guy was heavy, even in his girl form. Ryoga shifted Ranma-onna's weight, and the girl's head shifted to fall onto his shoulder.
Ryoga wondered what had possessed him to use the stupid koi rod in the first place. So, it had worked. What if it hadn't? What kind of fool he would have looked in front of Akane! Of course, he could always assert that he was playing some kind of joke, or only fooling around, but it seemed a really strange sort of thing to do in the first place. What kind of guy went around trying to hook people with a magical fishing rod? Not the sane kind.
Of course, Ryoga was not in the sanest frame of mind at the moment. In his pack was also a large shovel, and a flower he'd picked up from the side of the road. Nobody could say he was heartless; he was going to say all the proper prayers and everything. And once Ranma was good and dead, he and Akane would be free-free to *live* and free to *love*!
"Aiieee!" Ryoga screeched as he felt something small and extremely strong attach to the front of his chest.
"I. Love. You," Ranma told him earnestly, rubbing up and down.
"R-Ranma. you're awake?" Ryoga gasped, finally catching his breath.
Ranma sighed deeply, increasing her assets quite significantly. She had a look in her eye that Ryoga did *not* like. "We're all alone," she told him sexily. She melded her body even more closely to his.
"H-hey, wait just a second-"
Ranma laughed slightly evilly. "It's no use running. We're in a secluded forest. You can scream and cry all you want, Ryoga, but no one can hear us."
Ryoga's panic finally reached his muscles. He slammed the girl to the ground with his trusty shovel. "That's my line!" he cried. Pulling himself together, he smiled wickedly. "Time to die, now, Ranma."
Ranma blinked at him incredulously, but after a moment she saw that Ryoga was serious. "You don't. like me anymore," she confirmed.
"For the record, I never did," Ryoga informed her, advancing and cracking his knuckles.
Ranma's startlingly blue gaze searched the ground for a moment before she lifted her chin up to face Ryoga again.
"Here's where you tell me," Ryoga thought to himself, "how much you're going to hurt me-well, we'll see, Ranma!"
Ranma's gaze was innocent, however. "If I die." she whispered. "If I die, you'll be happy?"
"Wh." Ryoga couldn't even manage a four letter word, much less one more colorful.
"I understand," Ranma said. "I saw it from the beginning, I suppose. Could you-do it quickly?" She turned until she faced away from the other martial artist, and knelt with her hands in front of her knees, her head bowed.
"R-Ranma?" Suddenly, this wasn't looking too good after all.
"I'll happily die for you," Ranma went on. "So-go ahead."
Ryoga stared at the back of Ranma's skull, knowing just where to kick, or punch. He raised his fist.
Nothing happened.
Perhaps it was the sheen of Ranma's hair in the moonlight, and the sight of Ranma herself-not beloved, certainly, but familiar, that did it. Or maybe it was the way she put her hands together to pray, just so, so that a single tear ran down her cheek. Or maybe it was just that Ryoga Hibiki, much as he had shouted 'prepare to die' on numerous and various occasions, had never killed anyone.
He had always considered himself noble, that was the problem. He was the good guy. *Ranma* was the bad guy. Good guys didn't hit young women in the back of the head with a shovel in the deep darkness of the forest, no. That was evil.
For at least one and almost certainly all of those reasons, Ryoga lowered his shaking fist. "I CAN'T!!!" he screamed, falling to his knees.
Ranma turned to him and smiled sweetly. "I didn't think so-you're far too noble. It's for such reasons that I. Love. You!" And she did something that she would indubitably come to regret, once she came to herself, and something that Ryoga regretted instantly. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek.
Ryoga blinked, then felt faint. *Oh my GOD, I'm going to KILL HIM.* KILL HIM! Ryoga's mind became finally clear. It was his first kiss!-and it was with RANMA.
Ranma was going down.
Ranma *was* going down, but for another reason. She was *sitting* down, obviously blown away by the simple kiss she'd given her true love.
"RaaaaannmmmmaaaaaaAAAA!!!!" Ryoga proclaimed in his time-honored fashion.
Ranma leapt to her feet. "Yes, dear?"
"Prepare to die!"
"Now, that's more like it!" Ranma giggled. "Catch me if you can!" And she dashed off, Ryoga in hot pursuit.
************************
Ranma, meantime, was having the time of her life. The guy she loved was chasing her throughout the grounds of Furinkan. Now, not many girls could manage to keep Hibiki Ryoga on her trail, but Ranma was good. Very good. Every now and then she would double back, tease him, and scoot on forward. It was a lot like when she wasn't in love with him, actually.
Finally, she allowed him to catch her. That was the point, after all. The only trouble with the whole business was that she was never sure how angry Ryoga really was. He *looked* angry, but didn't he always? Ranma shrugged. "Do what you will," she said as cheerfully as she could manage. He looked like he was about to smash her into tiny pieces, or kiss her. Welll. either way was all right with Ranma. Without Ryoga, her life wasn't really worth very much, anyway. She closed her eyes and waited patiently.
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(Posted Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:02)
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