Disclaimer: Business as usual here…
A lone figure sat beside the moonlit canal. The figure was female, or at least looked female, and had a look of such loneliness and sheer tiredness that a passer-by might think her to be suicidal. This was not the case however, because while Ranma Saotome was a lot of things, good and bad, he was not a quitter. Although right now the thought crossed his mind.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe how blind I’ve been. How could I have thought she actually loved me? How could she when she doesn’t even trust me?” He angrily rubbed his eyes to stop the tears from coming. He then stared into the cold waters.
“I’m such a fool…” He saw a “girl” who was tired, tired of it all, and he knew it was true, for the water did not lie. It made his life hell, but it did not lie.
“Such a fool…”
It had been a typical day for Ranma up until the evening, when fate decided to have some fun with its favorite plaything. He had been getting some water, when he saw Kasumi slip and stumble into his arms, causing both of them a great deal of embarrassment. This was of course when Akane decided to walk in.
“Ranma!” Was all she said, or rather yelled as she threw him into the wall of the living room. As he slumped to the ground in pain, she stomped up to her room. Kasumi had asked if he was alright and apologized for causing him pain, but he had waved it off and told her it was no big deal. He was used to being blamed for things without reason after all. After that, he was fine for barely half an hour when Shampoo decided to show up to visit her husband. She had of course glomped him, and Akane had of course witnessed it and of course become insanely mad. The proceeding malleting was still felt now. Afterwards, it seemed that every fiancée and girl Ranma knew had come by and gotten into an incriminating position with him. All not his fault of course, but try telling that to an enraged Akane. Ukyou, Kodachi, Nabiki, Kasumi again, Akari looking for Ryouga, and even Ms. Hinako who had been passing by and wanted to say hello had all somehow wound up in some sort of seemingly perverted situation with him. Finally Akane snapped.
“Ranma…” Her fists clenched by her sides and she glared at him harder than ever before.
“I hate you!!! I wish you’d just go away and never bother me or my family again!” The words had hurt, a lot. Because even though they always fought, Ranma used to think that she still at least liked him, and maybe even loved him. He loved her after all, or at least he used to. He looked at the faces of the others. They looked shocked for lack of a better word. Although Nabiki just looked bored. Kasumi looked sad though, which was odd. At that moment he realized the truth, that Akane really did hate him, and he felt his heart shrivel up. Then he felt cold, so very cold. His face had become calm and collected and he said one word.
“Fine…” And he turned to leave. He didn’t look back, or he would have seen Akane’s gaping jaw and wide eyes of disbelief.
Now he sat by himself, wondering what he was going to do. He was eighteen, and had only the clothes on his back and his own determination. His eyes hardened and he stood up. Hadn’t his determination won him all his previous fights? Yes it had. And there was no way he was going to lose this battle. Not when it was this important. He had caused everyone nothing but misery, and he decided that it would end now. He would leave, and things could return to normal around here, and maybe he could get over his feelings for Akane. Standing straight Ranma was just about to leave when he detected soft footsteps approaching. Turning, he saw someone he had not expected to see at all.
“Kasumi?” He said curiously. She smiled at him, although it appeared forced, and walked right in front of him. The eldest Tendo girl was a lot taller than his girl form, yet he was almost a full head taller than her in his male form. He noticed she had a backpack with her. His backpack!
“Wha-what are you doing here?” He asked before realizing that it sounded rather rude.
“Uh, that is, I mean…” She placed his backpack on the ground, and stood back a bit. He noticed that it bulged and was obviously packed with supplies and whatnot.
“I realize that no matter what I say, you aren’t going to go back with me, and frankly, I can’t blame you, so I took the liberty of stocking your pack with everything you will need, at least for a little while. Think of it as my final gift to you Ranma, and my way of apologizing for the way everyone in my family has treated you over the years. He noticed that she was crying. Tears falling from her green eyes and sparkling along their descent to the ground.
“Kasumi…” He whispered. She shook her head and smiled, but the tears kept coming.
“I realize now I should have been the one to accept that engagement. Not only would you have been spared all this, but I think…” She stared right into his eyes.
“I think I would have been a lot happier now…” They continued to stare into each other’s eyes, and he hesitantly stepped closer to her. He rummaged around the pack for a moment, and sure enough, found a thermos of hot water. Splashing it on himself, he came closer to her and took her shoulders, which started to tremble. They kept eye contact the whole time as their lips traveled closer and finally met. The kiss was slow and passionate. They became lost in it and didn’t stop for almost a minute. Breaking apart and panting slightly, they stared at each other, and both hesitantly smiled. Ranma blushed a bit, as did Kasumi.
“I think I needed that…” He said simply, to which she nodded her head.
“Me too…” She then hugged him and he put his arms around her.
“Please…Please don’t go…” He smiled down at her and stroked her hair a bit.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t turn back now…you know me, when I’ve made up my mind on something, I don’t quit.” She cried harder but nodded into his chest, before finally releasing him. She stepped back, and wiped her eyes a bit.
“I wish I could go with you…” He nodded.
“Yes, but you have a responsibility here…” She nodded her own head, very sadly.
“Yes…” The silence lasted for a while, before he finally shouldered his pack.
“Thank you, for the pack, and for everything. I may be leaving, but I’ll always…” She held a finger to his mouth.
“Please, don’t say it. It will only make this harder.” He nodded again and watched her turn and go. She was almost gone, when she turned around again and smiled sadly.
“Farewell, Ranma… dear…” Then she was gone, and he was alone.
“Farewell, Kasumi… chan…”
He walked aimlessly for a few hours, until the sun began to rise in the sky. His mind and thoughts whirled. Just as he was leaving, he had to find out that Kasumi may have loved him, and he her… He sighed sadly. Life was so unfair sometimes. It would have been easy to go back with her, but he couldn’t. She knew that, and had let him go, and for that he was grateful and sad at the same time. He had checked the pack’s contents, and found enough money to last him a while if he was careful, as well as a supply of food, his clothes, and whatever other meager belongings he owned, and one other thing. A sculpture, a tiny wood carving, of a horse. With a small engraving on the bottom of it.
“Wild Horse…” He muttered as he continued to walk. It was a gift from Kasumi, he knew that much. He kept it now in his pocket, as a reminder. A reminder of an old life, one he had to leave behind in favor of a new one. He thought about what had caused all his problems in his old life, and found two reasons. His curse and his martial arts. The first was obvious, for without it, he would have gotten off to better start with Akane, and avoided many problems. As for the second, well without martial arts he never would have gone on the training trip, hence erasing nine tenths of all his problems, and he never would have beaten Shampoo, never gotten into a duel with Ryouga, never left his Mother, whom he had also decided to now leave behind as part of his old life. She never really cared for him anyway, only about his manliness. Whatever that meant. He knew he needed a new last name, so he tried to think one up. He noticed a sign with the letter five on it, and he held up his fist.
“Goken, Ranma Goken. With a new name obtained, he decided that it would be best to head for China and obtain a cure. He had put it off enough as is. The guide had sent a letter to him and only him saying that the pools of sorrow had refilled. As for martial arts, well, when he finished his business in China, he would deal with that. With a new purpose in mind, Ranma headed for the nearest travel agency.
“Ah sir, here is nannichuan. You very lucky that Jusenkyo waters refill a few months ago.” Ranma nodded and stepped into the pool. He felt no different and emerged from the water. He then walked over to Plum, who splashed some cold water on him. He closed his eyes, not feeling the change, but too used to disappointment to believe it. Opening them, he saw the smiling faces of the guide and Plum and looked down. With a cry of happiness, Ranma leaped into the air and then ran over and hugged both of them. He then turned to the pools, and let out a sigh. Like it or not Jusenkyo had been a part of his life, and now he could finally kiss it goodbye, and think of it as just a story to tell once in a while. He then stared up at the blue sky.
“Now that I have gotten rid of the curse, I, Ranma Goken, will never practice the art again.” He then turned and walked back with the guide and Plum to have some lunch at their small house.
“I swear it…”
“Damn it, wish I hadn’t missed the college entrance exams while I was in China.” He had finally gotten back from his trip to China, and had resolved to make something of himself. He had gotten a part time job at a bookstore of all things, and had decided to take the college entrance exams, and get an education. Part of leaving his old life behind meant leaving the dumb jock image behind and making a living someday. But without the art, the one thing he was good at, he had to learn some new skills, and that meant college. Unfortunately he had missed the exams while in China and had to wait until next year to take them. With a new sense of determination, Ranma had decided to study hard, pass the exams, and get into a good college. Of course, with the place he lived at now, that would be tough. He lived in a little run-down boarding house called Maison Ikkoku, and while it was inexpensive, it was also extremely hard to study in. Simply put, the other tenants were insane, and prone to partying all the time, in his room of all places. They also called him flunk out and ronin, because they believed he had in fact failed the exams the first time, not just missed them. He put up with it however, figuring that it wasn’t worth the trouble to get too upset about them. But he was at his wit’s end. He was moving out; he couldn’t afford to mess up on his exams. It was too important. So with his meager possessions packed, including the little horse from Kasumi, he headed down the stairs to freedom. But fate had other ideas. He had just walked past Mr. Yotsuya, when he heard a voice by the door.
“Excuse me, is this Maison Ikkoku?” He looked towards the door and gasped. Standing in the doorway was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And he had seen a lot of beautiful women. He tried to get his mouth to work, but it failed him, as did his brain. The other tenants answered her.
“Yup, this is Maison Ikkoku.” She smiled, causing Ranma to practically hyperventilate.
“Oh, well, as of today, I’ll be the new manager here. My
name is Kyoko Otonashi.” She then turned to Ranma.
”Um, are you leaving?” He shook his head.
“Oh no. I’m staying, definitely staying…” She blinked and smiled at him.
“Oh, well, that’s good.” He smiled in return and rubbed the
back of his head.
”Yeah, it is…”
Author’s Notes: This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Combine two of Takahashi-san’s best series into one fic. I hope it turned out okay. I will continue it soon. Please tell me what you think! Review and if possible send me some e-mail telling me your comments and whatever else you want to say. Well, until next time then…
