Deep Blue
by Kirinin
Characters are rather obviously not mine. They are Takahashi’s. Someone who knows about the koi rod arc will appreciate this story more than someone unfamiliar with it.
*___* indicates where I had italics in the original MS Word document. Therefore it represents thoughts, or anything with a particular emphasis. Comments are always appreciated, but flames wilt the flowers. On with the story!
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DEEP BLUE
By Kirinin
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 he held 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 the 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.
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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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Ryoga started. Why did she have to go and close her eyes? It was Ranma’s new grave all over again. Ryoga simply couldn’t hit a girl waiting for him to kiss her. Especially not waiting with her eyes closed, where there was no way she could stop his fist if it were coming.
Of course, Ranma probably wouldn’t stop the fist coming in the first place. Ryoga shuddered. The part that was scariest about this whole business was just *how* obsessed Ranma had become. Just a little crush might have given him the willies, but he would have been able to deal with it using his normal good old method- i.e. punching Ranma to a pulp. Sheer devotion was simply too much.
Ranma’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked frankly into his, searching.
Ryoga moved to step back, but Ranma’s hand attached firmly
to his shoulder, holding him motionless.
Ryoga blinked—how strong *was* Ranma? Ryoga had been sure he was the stronger of the two...
Ranma pulled him closer to her, and Ryoga fell into blind panic mode, his brain shutting down. Ranma was still staring into his eyes like she meant to get lost. When they were inches away, Ranma stopped pulling. “You hate me, don’t you?” she demanded.
Ryoga blinked. “U-uh-uhm…” he stuttered. *Not what I was expecting.*
“I see,” Ranma replied tightly. “I’ve been making a fool of myself, haven’t I?” She gulped—Ryoga could see her throat move, they were so close. “Alright. I’m going to go back to the Tendo’s now.”
Ryoga took several quick breaths, not realizing he had been holding the air in his lungs. His eyes wide and wild, he still managed to keep silent.
Ranma leaned up against the tree, releasing him. “If you need me—or want me—that’s where I’ll be. But… fat chance, huh?” She smiled bitterly at him, her eyes full of tears, and loped away off into the wilderness.
“Wait! Ranma—where are we?”
Ranma turned to him, her face happy for a moment just at being called. “We’re at school,” Ranma informed him. “You can follow me… from a distance… if you want to get out.” Tears were running down her cheeks freely now. She looked positively miserable, Ryoga noted.
Ryoga followed Ranma—from a distance—until they came off of school grounds. When they reached the outside, Ranma turned to him again. “Can you give me—just a little kiss?” she wanted to know. Her cheeks had tear trails on them, still.
“No way!” Ryoga exclaimed.
Ranma looked at him, her heart shattering in her eyes, before heading for home.
Ryoga sat down right where he was, concentrating on taking deep, calming breaths. Why in heaven’s name did he feel like a complete jerk?
************************
Ranma ran blindly through the streets, sobbing wildly.
“Ranma. Ranma!”
Akane caught her by the shoulders, but all the redhead did was weep copiously onto Akane’s dress. Bit by bit the redhead told Akane what had occurred between she and Ryoga. “I’m sure he really didn’t mean to *bury* you, Ranma,” Akane assured her. “Ryoga’s a gentleman.”
Ranma nodded into her shirt. “But he looked really angry!” she countered.
“You can’t blame him for that one,” Akane replied. “Ranma—look what I found. It’s directions to something of Ryoga’s. A koi rod love spell. Ryoga didn’t hit you with anything, did he?”
Ranma lifted her head off of Akane’s shoulder and blinked uncertainly. “Oh…” she whispered as she read. “Oh.” She moved her shirt slightly aside, to view the top of her right breast. “Oh!”
Akane shook her head, putting an arm around Ranma’s shoulder and leading her in the direction of home. “I don’t understand it,” Akane added. “I mean, Ryoga’s desperate for a girlfriend, but really!”
Ranma rubbed the tears from her eyes, handing the directions back to Akane. “I dunno, Akane, maybe he just wanted somebody who he thought would understand him, and know about—ah, things about him, already. I think I know more about Ryoga than anybody alive.”
Akane considered this. “It’s still going way too far, Ranma. I’m going to have to yell at him the next time I see him.”
“H-how do I get it… o-off?” Ranma stammered. “I don’t want to, but I know I should.”
Akane smiled. “Don’t worry—we’ll figure it out.”
Ranma returned her smile tremulously. “He hates me!!!” she suddenly exclaimed, and burst once more into tears.
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Days passed. A week. Two weeks. A month, until Ryoga returned by combined chance and design (as is often the case) to Nerima.
Akane and Ranma were getting on far better those days, because of the koi rod incident. Not only had Akane been there for Ranma when the redhead needed her, but Ranma’s infatuation with Ryoga took the pressure off of Akane entirely. Without any sort of relationship stuff going on between the two of them, they had some relationship stuff going on.
Ryoga showed up at their door with six layers of mud, a disgusting smelling flower, and a highly satisfied expression.
Kasumi was surprised to see him, and aggrieved at the sheer amount of filth, but invited him inside and ordered him to take a bath, directly.
Ryoga agreed, handed the smelly flower to Kasumi, and stomped up the stairs to the furo.
“Thank you… I think?” Kasumi called up after him, and put the smelly flower in some nice water, where it proceeded to foul the water and stink up the kitchen.
Akane and Ranma flew down the steps, talking a million miles a minute, headed for the refrigerator and an afternoon snack.
“Ryoga’s upstairs taking a bath,” Kasumi informed them serenely. “He brought us a flower.”
“Eek! It stinks!” Akane exclaimed, pinching her nose with one hand and waving the air in front of her with another.
Kasumi nodded. “I’m certain it was the best he could do…”
“Why, how sweet of him!” Ranma exclaimed, stars in his eyes. “Wait, did you say *taking a bath*?”
Akane bonked him on the head.
“Akane, opportunities like this come once in a blue moon. No *way* we’re passing it up.”
“You’re making me nervous. At least change to a girl before you talk like that.”
“And how! I need a dress. Akane, you *have to help me*!!!” Ranma grabbed a hold of his fiancée’s hand and flew back up the stairs at the speed of light.
Kasumi clucked to herself and went into the backyard to cut some sweeter-smelling flowers. So her kitchen would not smell quite so skunk-like.
Upstairs, Ranma and Akane crept towards the furo door.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Akane hissed to Ranma.
The redhead giggled. “You have to see it sometime, Akane, or you’ll be all shocked. Besides, Ryoga likes you, and *I’ve* seen him before. I don’t think he’ll mind.”
Akane snorted at this, about to voice a last ditch protest, but they were already at the furo door. Ranma leaned over and cracked the door open slightly.
“What’s going on?” Akane demanded.
“I can’t see. Too much steam,” the redhead replied. “Now that we’ve opened the door a bit, the show should start soon, though.”
Akane glared at her. Together, they waited.
“What’s going on, girls?” Nabiki queried from behind the pair.
Both of them jumped. “SHHH!” they hissed.
Nabiki blinked at them. “What’s so interesting that’s in the furo?” she whispered, and leaned in. “Ooohhh, male flesh! Who is it?”
“It’s Ryoga,” Ranma said in adoring tones.
“Oh, *that* again,” Nabiki said flatly. “Wait! He’s turning around.”
“SHHH!!!” they exclaimed.
Nabiki leaned a bit closer, standing while Akane and Ranma crouched, so they could all see. It was finally revealed that Ryoga was just dipping into the furo. Now all that the trio could see was blurred flesh tones beneath the water. You could barely make anything out. Nabiki, Ranma, and Akane all let out a small sigh of disappointment.
“We can still wait until he gets out,” Ranma said hopefully.
Nabiki nodded, and readied the camera that was hanging around her neck.
“Girls, what are the three of you doing out in the hallway?” Kasumi queried.
Everybody jumped. “Eh heh,” Ranma laughed nervously.
“We’re spying on Ryoga,” Nabiki said without remorse.
“But Ryoga-kun’s in the bath!” Kasumi protested.
“That’s right, oneechan,” Akane replied wickedly. Everyone turned back to observing Ryoga, who was standing up out of the bath.
“Oh my!” Kasumi exclaimed quietly, standing behind Nabiki. “He really is quite the boy, isn’t he?”
The three girls nodded appreciatively. Akane’s mouth was open in a little surprised ‘o’. “I didn’t know they came that big!” she whispered scandalously.
“What’s everybody doing out in the hallway?” Soun demanded. “Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, Ranma?”
Kasumi jumped, bumping into Nabiki, who bumped into Akane, who slammed into Ranma, who banged into the door. To make a long story short, a four-girl pileup crashed at Ryoga Hibiki’s feet.
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“How many times do we have to say we’re sorry?” Ranma complained, her smile and her eyes still adoring him, no matter what her voice said. “We were just a little curious, that’s all.”
Ryoga growled.
“Ranma, you don’t have to be curious! You’ve got everything I have!”
“I’m not sure *any* boy has quite what *you’ve* got, Ryoga-kun,” Kasumi protested, handing Ryoga a sandwich. When Ryoga refused to accept it from sheer shock, Kasumi placed his plate in front of him and moved back to the kitchen counter without missing more than a beat.
“You should eat,” Ranma told him. “Keep your strength up.”
Ryoga’s eyebrow twitched, but he bit savagely into the sandwich.
“Don’t mind Ranma, you know how she is around you,” Akane advised, taking a bite out of her own sandwich.
“So,” Nabiki said, walking to the table and sitting down with her plate. “What brings you back to Nerima?”
Ryoga nodded. “I think I finally found a cure for Ranma.”
Ranma blinked. “A *cure*? Did you try it out, first?”
“Try it out--?” Ryoga sat for a moment, confused. “No—not *that* kind of cure, stupid! A cure for the koi rod!”
Akane shook her head at him. “Ryoga, I can’t believe you did such a thing in the first place. If you wanted a girlfriend, there are plenty of friends of mine I can think of. Sayuri’s looking for a date right now. Why’d you have to trick Ranma?”
Ryoga opened his mouth angrily, shut it, looked down, stammered.
Ranma shrugged and winked at the other girl. “Well, let’s have it, loverboy.”
The lost boy winced, but handed the stinky flower to Ranma.
“Oooh, for me! How thoughtful!” The redhead beamed happily at him.
Ryoga began to twitch and murmur under his breath, before gathering ahold of himself. “You’re supposed to smell it. I’m supposed to hand it to you and then you’re supposed to smell it. So? Smell it, damn it!”
Ranma took a deep breath. “Oookay.” She leaned down and took a deep whiff. “ACK!” she screeched. <Cough, hack, wheeze, die.>
“Well, Ranma?” Nabiki asked flatly. “Any better?”
Ranma shook her head, still coughing. Kasumi brought her a glass of water and stood, patting her on the back until she could breathe again. “Nasty!” she exclaimed. “Worse… than… Akane’s cooking!”
Akane grimaced. “Well, there you have it, Ryoga. Nothing doing, I think. And you still didn’t answer me. Unless you were simply fooling around with the fishing rod?”
Ranma looked at Ryoga, who appeared stricken. “I’m sure that was it, Akane,” she said quickly.
“I don’t understand it,” Ryoga finally said, one hand to his forehead. “The old guy on the mountain said this would work for sure.”
“I’m sure it would work in any ordinary situation,” Ranma soothed. She took the flower in her hands gently. “I’m going to go press this.” She planted a kiss on Ryoga’s cheek and moved upstairs.
“ACK!”
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A week passed, two weeks, a month, two months. And Ryoga returned. Akane and Ranma had truly become friends. With Ranma’s seemingly lasting devotion to a man, the fathers had declared the wedding postponed indefinitely; and the two relaxed even more, and started talking about having a wedding.
“I want mine to be yellow-and-white,” Akane said firmly. “Western-style. And not nasty, bright yellow—pale chiffon yellow.”
Ranma considered, peering down at the bride magazine. “Red,” he said finally.
“Red? For a wedding?” Akane looked incredulous. She began kicking her feet in the air behind her as they lay on the carpet together.
“What can I say? It’s my color.” Ranma began to kick his feet in the air, too.
“It’d clash with your hair,” Akane warned.
“I wouldn’t be the one wearing red, baka. My bridesmaids would be. You would be.”
“Ahhhh. So ka desu. Hmm… what do you think of the catering?”
“Neko Hanten and Ucchan’s, all the way!”
The two giggled, but Ranma rolled over until he was staring at the ceiling. “I’m dreaming, though,” he said wistfully.
“We’re both dreaming, Ranma. It’s okay,” Akane assured him. “Besides; someday Ryoga might actually come to his senses!” She winked. “You never know.”
“I do so. He’s repulsed. He thinks I’ve gone nuts.”
Akane sighed, having had this conversation countless times before. “Just walk around him splashed most of the time,” she advised, “wear something pretty when he’s around, and smile at him—not a lot, but enough to let him know you like him. That’s all you can do, right?” She smiled hopefully.
Ranma didn’t notice the smile. “Right,” he replied morosely.
Kasumi knocked gently and peered into Akane’s room. “Ryoga is here to visit!” she exclaimed, a pretty blush across her cheeks. She was indubitably remembering the lost boy’s last one.
Ranma’s face lit up. “He’s here!” He turned to his fiancée. “Akane, what should I wear?”
Akane considered. “The mauve top—and those new blue jeans we bought the other day.” She grabbed his hands. “Lay it on a little thicker this time. If you see him panicking, back off.”
“Thank you!” Ranma kissed her on the cheek and ran for the furo to change and to ‘change’.
Kasumi stared off after the black-and-red colored streak that used to be Ranma. She turned to her sister and blinked.
“Well… if the only thing I can do is be a good friend… that’s what I’ll be,” Akane replied stoutly, and headed off downstairs, rubbing her cheek.
Ryoga was quite dirty, so he took another bath before seeing Akane—but he managed to remember to lock the door, this time. When he came down, Akane was standing next to a girl he’d never seen before. The girl had a scarlet wave of hair that came down to her shoulder blades; it had been pulled half-back with a small jeweled clip. She was wearing a mauve sweater that was of a very thin but soft material, which hugged her curves like it never wanted to let them go. Dark-colored blue jeans completed the outfit, along with a belt of a similar design to her hair ornament.
Ryoga blinked at her. Was *that* the girl Akane wanted to set him up with?
The girl turned to face him and revealed the most lovely, innocent, startlingly blue eyes he’d ever seen. His heart flip-flopped in his chest. He didn’t think he’d ever received such a look from a girl before. It was almost as if she knew him and trusted him already.
“Hi,” the girl said. “How have you been?” She smiled up at him, that expression of absolute trust still in her eyes.
Ryoga opened his mouth, then closed it, thinking first. *Don’t make a fool of yourself, don’t make a fool of yourself,* he intoned. “H-hi,” he finally replied. “I’m Hibiki Ryoga. N-Nice to meet you.”
Akane and the redhead exchanged a confused glance.
“Yes, as always,” the new girl exclaimed, confused. “Do you like the hair? I changed it a little…”
She was acting like she knew him! There was no way he could forget such a vision. “Ah… it’s very pretty, miss…?”
The angel frowned. “It’s *me*—” She leaned in and pulled him to her, embracing him happily. “I’ve missed you.”
Ryoga short-circuited. The way this girl felt in his arms- he recognized it… he recognized her shape… he *did* know this girl! He had held her before, then… but there was only one girl who he’d ever… “Ranma!”
Ranma withdrew and offered him a dazzling smile. “Sorry ‘bout that, I know you don’t like it. But I’m just so happy to see you again, that I couldn’t stop myself. Especially with how cute you look when you’re all confused like that.” She beamed again.
Ryoga stumbled backwards until he was standing against the kitchen cabinet.
Akane approached him cautiously. “You are okay, aren’t you, Ryoga? It’s your fault for not recognizing Ranma…”
Ryoga gulped. When did everything stop being Ranma’s fault? “S-sorry…”
Ranma shrugged, going to the refrigerator for a soda. “I should’ve known,” she said, still smiling happily. “You never recognize me when I dress like this. Still, I figured, pants…” She tossed a soda to Akane, who caught it and popped the top seemingly in a single motion. “Want one?”
Ryoga shook his head numbly, and Ranma closed the refrigerator door. Then, she paused. “Are you hungry? I could whip something up for you.”
Ryoga shook his head again. “Ah… I, ah…”
Ranma sat next to him and patted him on the shoulder. “Are you alright?” she inquired sweetly.
The lost boy in question shuddered.
“I think he just needs to wait until the blood goes back to his brain,” Nabiki stated, coming in from the TV room. Ranma reached into the fridge for another soda and tossed it to the mercenary. “Thanks,” she said. “So… what brings the lost boy all this way, huh?”
Ryoga finally gathered himself. “Another cure. This one’ll do it for sure!”
Ranma giggled. “That rhymed!”
“What is it?” Akane huffed. “A magic goldfish? A singing rock? Or perhaps a magic bow-and-arrow this time!”
Ryoga shook his head. “It’s a magic incense. You light it in the room with two people who don’t want to love one another anymore, and they sit in it all day. It’s supposed to be guaranteed.”
Ranma shrugged, making eye contact with first Akane, then Nabiki. “Oh, sure. That’s fine, Ryoga.”
Nabiki put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing, but Akane mouthed ‘*you’d BETTER not*’. Ranma waved at them. “See you guys in twenty-four, ne?”
************************
Ranma entered the dojo and closed the doors behind her, stuffing the edges with rags Kasumi had given her. “This way, we’ll be sure to breathe it in,” she explained as Ryoga lit the incense.
Ryoga grunted in reply. “You’re still wearing that get-up,” he growled.
“You don’t like it?” Ranma looked down at herself critically. “Maybe I *have* gained a few pounds.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You look just the same! You just look like a normal girl in that, that’s all.” *A normal, incredibly beautiful girl*.
“Oh.” Ranma shrugged. “Well, if it makes you uncomfortable, I guess I can wear my normal stuff when you’re around. Akane says the sweater makes me look pretty.”
“It does,” Ryoga protested.
Ranma’s head bobbed upwards. “Oh!” She blushed. “Okay, then. I guess I should just trust her taste.”
“You *guess*, you *guess*, you *guess*,” Ryoga imitated, crossing his arms over his chest. “Would you stop being so damned deferential all the time? It makes you seem like a typical girl.”
“Typical girl, typical girl, typical girl,” Ranma repeated. “This really bugs you, huh?”
“Of course it bugs me! What do you expect?”
Ranma smiled at him slyly. “I don’t know. Let me see. You have a girl in here that you think looks pretty. She’s deeply in love with you, and you’re stuck inside a room together for twenty-four hours. Hm, if I were a guy… and I am… what would I do?”
Ryoga glared at her. “Well gee, Ranma, I don’t know, either. Maybe if it were you, you’d hem and haw and say you don’t like the girl in the first place.”
Ranma smiled brightly. “Well then, I guess we *are* alike!”
“I don’t like you! I never will! So just stop it!!!”
The redhead backed off considerably at that. After a brief silence, she spoke into the smoke-laden darkness. “Making a fool of myself again, am I?” she whispered. Ryoga could no longer see her, but he heard a sniff sound from her direction. He couldn’t believe it. He’d made her cry again. “Ever occur to you that this scares me maybe as much as it scares you?” she demanded. “Ever think that maybe I haven’t enjoyed pining over you these past few months, dreaming about you, and hating myself the entire time? This spell is strong, Ryoga, strong and powerful and consuming. I have to remind myself to eat and sleep! And it doesn’t help my state of mind if you yell at me like that.”
For a long time, Ryoga absorbed this. “Okay,” he said finally. “But it freaks me out when you come on strong like that. You don’t do that, and I won’t scream at you.”
“It’s a deal,” Ranma said. “Hey, Ryoga. I know what I want more than anything in the world. What do you want?”
Ryoga paused to consider. “I guess I want to get rid of my Jusenkyo curse.”
Ranma laughed. “Okay. I may have the solution for us both, then.”
Ryoga scrambled over to her in the darkness. “You figured something out?!”
“Yeah,” the redhead replied, “but it’s only of use to you. If this whole incense business doesn’t work, I’ll go to China with you and I’ll make your wish come true.”
“You will?!” Ryoga exclaimed.
“That’s how much I love you,” she replied, hanging her head. “But this is the deal. You have to act like my…” she gulped, and started over. “If I do this for you, you have to act like my boyfriend while we’re journeying. I promise not to do something really hentai—I just want your affection.”
Ryoga paused to consider. If Ranma wasn’t joshing him, he could live the rest of his life free with his curse! It didn’t take much time to come to a decision. One or two weeks’ worth of pretending to like Ranma weighted against an entire life free of the pig! “You’ve got a deal,” he said, shaking the redhead’s hand. “But not until we’re out in the wilderness.”
“Fine by me,” Ranma said, her voice filled with emotion. She hugged her knees to her body and took deep breaths of incense-laden air. “Are you starting to hate me yet?” she queried.
“No more than usual,” Ryoga grumped. Remembering Ranma’s admonition, he tacked on, “which is never much.”
“Nice try,” the redhead laughed in the darkness.
Hours later, Ryoga rolled his sleeping-bag out and climbed inside. Ranma scrambled to sit next to him, but thankfully kept her distance. “You sleepy?” Ranma asked.
Ryoga longed to scream at her that there was, of course, a *reason* he had unfurled his bedroll, but remembered at the last second to be kind and gentle. Ranma had the cure, after all, or knew about it; and she was clever enough to keep it to herself. “Yeah, a little tired,” he replied in a strained voice.
Ranma sighed. “It’s really that hard to be nice, huh. All right, I won’t talk anymore. I’m going to sleep.” She sprawled next to him, carefully not touching any part of him, and soon was asleep. Ryoga stared at the ceiling, watching as the incense swirled around in the air; his eyes teared from the terrible build-up of smoke, causing him to quickly close them.
Inside, he was singing. He was finally going to be free of the curse! Provided, of course, that the incense didn’t work… Glancing around furtively, Ryoga pulled the rags out from around the doors and slid them open.
************************
The next day, he and Ranma packed for China. Akane stared balefully at Ryoga the entire time, and took him aside before they left, warning the Lost Boy that if he hurt Ranma, she’d never speak to him again.
“Ranma,” Akane said tearfully. Ranma went to the other girl and wrapped her in an embrace. For a moment, Akane stiffened, but then she relaxed, flinging her arms around Ranma in turn. “I’ll miss you.”
Ranma drew back, and Ryoga was surprised to see tears in the redhead’s eyes. “Akane, I always wanted to tell you—you’re not a tomboy just ‘cause you’re strong, and your legs aren’t too big. I just said that ‘cause you frightened me. Although it’s true that you can’t cook to save your life.”
Akane blinked at him. “Well, Ranma, you’re not exactly stupid or a playboy, either. Though you can be dense and insensitive at times.”
Ryoga blinked at the two. There was something more they were saying to one another, something more important that he could not manage to grasp. Somehow, Ranma was speaking *girl language*—a language he had never even begun to understand. He wondered how the redhead had parsed it out.
The two girls hugged again and Ranma and Ryoga set out. Ryoga remembered his promise and offered Ranma his hand when they came to especially difficult areas for hiking. Ranma played girl to the hilt, exclaiming over flora and fauna, cooking every meal for Ryoga, and styling her hair. Ryoga, in turn, played the part of the boy, hunting for them, setting up their tent and protecting Ranma from a wild bear on one occasion.
The third night, Ranma pulled her sleeping bag far closer to Ryoga’s than she ever had previously. The two bags were practically on top of one another.
Ryoga took one look at the two of them and grimaced, going into a fighting stance. “You said no hentai stuff.”
“And I meant it,” Ranma assured him artlessly. “I just want to lie close to you, that’s all.”
Ryoga grumbled and climbed into his sleeping bag, and Ranma followed suit.
“Ryoga?” she queried sleepily. “What’s the first thing you’ll do once you get cured?”
“Well… I haven’t exactly thought about it. I suppose I’ll go and ask Akane out on a date.”
Ranma remained silent, but she shifted in her sleeping bag. Ryoga bit his lip. It bothered him that he could feel the heat from Ranma’s body. It was like constantly seeing something out of the corner of his eye, but never really being sure it was there. He remained awake for the rest of the night, nervous and unable to close his eyes for fear Ranma would do something, but the redhead was true to her word. She simply lay close enough to touch him, without doing so.
Several days later, nobody would ever have believed Ranma and Ryoga were not a normal couple. Whenever they entered a small town to re-stock their supplies, everyone assumed that they were together, and many assumed they were hiking for their honeymoon. Ranma enjoyed the attention, hamming it up, inventing elaborate stories concerning how the two of them had met, delightful tales that Ryoga knew he would have laughed and smiled at, had the situation been different. It turned out that when it came to inventing stories, Ranma was as good a liar as his old man.
Ranma also took advantage of others’ presence to touch him in subtle ways: on the arm, to point something out; on the shoulder for reassurance; by the wrist to stop him from going in the wrong direction. She knew that, in the presence of villagers, he could not yell at her to back off. Besides, Ryoga knew that Ranma could have taken far more advantage of his promise than she was. She could have demanded kisses, or worse, as part of the ‘boyfriend’ agreement. Instead, she was contenting herself with the minutiae of being lovers without demanding actual love.
When they reached Jusenkyo, Ranma stopped and sat along the rocky path, drawing out some cool water and drinking from it in slow, casual sips.
“What are you doing?” Ryoga demanded. “We’re almost there! I can see it!”
“You won’t be any less cured in a couple of hours,” Ranma told him. “Sit with me for just a moment. Okay?”
Ryoga’s gaze moved back and forth from the springs below to the steppe in front of them before he grudgingly lowered his pack.
“Isn’t it pretty?” Ranma said blissfully. She leaned her head against the rock face, smiling.
“Yeah, pretty dangerous,” Ryoga growled. “Can we go now?”
“You’re such a grump,” Ranma accused. “Can’t you relax for just a second? I’ll rub your shoulders, if you want.”
“No *thanks*,” Ryoga said.
“Let me. Come on. I promise that’s all I’ll do. You’re so tetchy, ever since me and the girls peeked on you in the bath.”
Ryoga grimaced, but Ranma moved behind him and rubbed his shoulders gently. “I’m just making you more tense,” she said after a minute or two, and resumed her seat next to him. She turned to him, searching his eyes. “You must be pretty afraid of me,” she said finally. “All right. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Ryoga shouldered his pack and followed the redhead down into the valley, taken aback by her strange vehemence. “All right, so where’s the man-spring?”
Ranma shook her head. “No, silly. That won’t work. Nabiki explained it to me a month or so ago. Remember, Taro mixed his curses. You wouldn’t want to turn half-boy, half-pig, would you?”
Ryoga shook his head. “Nooo…”
“Right. Well, there’s a way to get a no-curse spring that I learned about from the Jusenkyo guide. One that negates curses.”
“How?!” Ryoga exclaimed.
Ranma smiled at him. “Someone who has a curse has to find the spring they were cursed with, and drown in it. It has to be willing, but once it’s done, that purifies the water. Would you hand me my bathing-suit?”
Ryoga gaped. “What?”
“I’ll do it myself, if you won’t.” Ranma began to dig inside her pack, dislodging various items. “Here it is. I don’t suppose it really matters what I’m wearing, but I’m going to be sitting in there for awhile. I can hold my breath for a really long time.” Turning her back, she began to disrobe.
“But… Ranma…”
“Don’t give me any ‘buts’.” Ranma turned to him, her blue eyes wide and earnest. “Ryoga. I don’t want to live without you. This way, I can leave this world knowing I’m giving you this huge gift. If it weren’t for this, I’d be… slitting my wrists. Or taking pills. Or worse, finding some way to force you to love me. Let’s do *this*, before my love twists around on itself.” She tossed her shirt aside and began unbuttoning her shorts.
Ryoga simply stared at her, dumbstruck. “You’re going to kill yourself?”
“I was willing to die for you,” Ranma replied, pulling on her bathing suit that read ‘boy’. “This way I’m at least being useful about it.” She jumped into the Spring of Drowned Girl with a splash.
“Ranma,” Ryoga breathed. He couldn’t believe it. Could Ranma actually be serious?
Ranma surfaced. “This might be a little bit harder than I’d thought,” she said apologetically. “There’s a little outcropping of rock down here. Have you got any rope or something? I can tie it there, that’ll be easier.”
“You’re still so calm about this?” Ryoga demanded. “You’re throwing your life away over me!” Suspicions crowded his mind. Ranma couldn’t be for real!
“I’m not throwing it away,” Ranma assured him. “I’m giving it to you. That’s not the same thing.” She smiled. “Ryoga, you’re a wonderful person. You’re loving and faithful and honest.”
“Not to you,” Ryoga replied.
“Exactly,” Ranma answered. “Where’s the rope, now? I’m not sure how much longer my courage can hold out. You want to be cured, don’t you?” She pulled herself up out of the water and dug into her own pack. “There!” she exclaimed, drawing forth the length of rope. “Okay, now, you pull this end tightly. Don’t let go, or I’ll come floating right up again.”
Ryoga blinked as the soaked girl pressed one end of the length of rope in his hand.
“Ryoga,” she said hesitantly. “I know I promised I wouldn’t nudge you about all of this hentai stuff, but do you suppose you could hold my hand? I don’t think the water would harm you if it’s just your arm.” The redhead beamed and moved back to the Pool. “Remember to pull it really tight, or I won’t stay under.” She leapt inside like a pearl diver, one end of the rope in her outstretched hand.
Ryoga stared at the rope in his hands blankly, before cautiously sticking his hand into the pool. Ranma’s gripped it, strong and alive.
Ranma had to be kidding with him. Ranma had played so many tricks in the past; she *had* to be joking. This whole thing was ridiculous! Ranma was just trying to get his attention, to—
The hand on his tightened, and he returned the pressure instinctively.
--to fool him. There was no way Ranma was actually going to give up something *this* monumental for him. Love didn’t run this deep!
The pressure on Ryoga’s hand became slighter. “When is she going to come up for air?!” he demanded quietly.
And then the pressure released, and Ranma’s hand slipped from Ryoga’s.
For a long, quiet moment, Ryoga beheld the situation from the outside. Ranma was dead. All this time, Ryoga had thought that his rival was suckering him into giving attention, when this entire trip with him had been more like a last request. He had been grumbling all the way, refusing to allow Ranma to even make her last peace over Jusenkyo, forcing her onwards instead. To her death. Ryoga’s eyes widened. What Ranma had said to Akane before leaving—had she been saying goodbye?
Ryoga had never hated himself before. He had hated his sense of direction, possibly, but never himself. Right then he felt like the most disgusting of men ever to walk the earth. He had killed Ranma at long last. *Well,* a nasty voice said with relish. *Your dream of the past couple of years is finally realized.*
“NO!” Ryoga gasped, and time seemed to move forward again of a sudden. He let go of the rope, but it was too late. Ranma didn’t swim for the top, she *floated* upwards, *drifted* upwards, out of the deep blue. Dead. She was *dead.* He had killed Ranma!
Without another thought, Ryoga dove into the Nyaniichuan, gripped Ranma by the waist and hauled her out of the spring. “Ranma!” he screamed. “Ranma!!! Shit, shit, shit, oh *shit.*” What had possessed him to think she was only fooling around?! This was all his own damn fault!
Ryoga dove in to Ranma’s parted lips and puffed into her mouth, laid his hands across her chest and pumped. And again. And again. And again.
“Oh dear God, Akane’s never gonna forgive me. *Akane*—I’ll never forgive *myself!*” Ryoga pumped desperately at Ranma’s chest, begging her to breathe.
Ranma had an unnaturally good constitution. After a couple of age-long moments, she turned on her side and coughed up a great deal of magical water.
Ryoga gave a joyful exclamation, and pounded her happily on the back.
“Not…” she winced. “Not so hard.”
Ryoga grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “What in God’s name were you thinking? I thought it was a ploy, I didn’t really think you were going to *do* it! Kami-sama!!!”
Ranma leaned into him, still coughing strongly. “S-sorry…” she managed. “Y-you’re all wet.”
“I jumped in to get you, you *fool,*” Ryoga informed her.
Ranma smiled at him. “But your curse… is gone. Otherwise you would have changed into a girl by now. Or a girl-pig.”
Ryoga blinked, looking down at himself.
“You’re more slender though, and your eyelashes are longer,” Ranma observed softly, looking up into his face. “It may be it did something after all, but for the most part you look the same.”
“Who the hell cares what I *look like?*” Ryoga demanded. “Ranma, this isn’t a little thing, and it isn’t funny. I… I thought you were dead for sure. You scared the shit out of me.”
Ranma blinked at him. “I thought you hated me.”
Ryoga opened his mouth to retort, then paused. “I thought I did too,” he replied. “But… losing you felt terrible. You have to promise me you’re never going to do anything like that, ever again.”
“Because it would hurt you?” Ranma questioned him, her voice gentle.
Ryoga stared down at her, for the first time realizing how close the two of them were. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks. “I…I…I…” he stammered.
“Ah, yes, I’m a girl,” Ranma stated slowly. “So you’ve finally noticed.” She shivered.
“You’re cold,” Ryoga exclaimed. “Let me get you a blanket… you should get out of that bathing suit…”
Ranma squirmed weakly, managing to undress herself with a little effort. Ryoga wasn’t about to offer to help. He wrapped the blanket around her small frame. “I’m still cold,” she hinted.
“All right,” he said, a resigned note in his voice. He scooped her up into his arms, and Ranma gasped and then giggled, sounding surprised. “Where do you think we should set up camp?” he inquired.
At Ranma’s pointing finger and explicit directions, they arrived at a decent site. Ryoga set up their tent, and built a fire. “I… didn’t understand, before, Ranma,” Ryoga said slowly. “But you really do *love* me, don’t you? You’re not just devoted.”
“I love you with all my heart,” she replied, still shivering. Ryoga scooped her up and moved her closer to the fire, but when she rested her head on his chest, and glomped him, he was forced to keep her there.
“It’s just the spell, though. You know that, don’t you?” Ryoga demanded. His voice was still gentle, though. He knew he would never forget that Ranma had been willing to die for him—not just to die, in fact, but to kill herself simply to make him happier. A distinct difference. “If this ever wears off, think how embarrassed we’ll both be,” he managed, still marveling at what Ranma had done for him.
Ranma snuggled closer into his embrace. “Don’t drop me, Ryoga… you have to promise…”
“I won’t,” he said. “We can sit here until you fall asleep, if you like.”
Ranma smiled. “…but it already *has* worn off. It wore off ages ago.”
Ryoga’s arms went limp, and it was only because Ranma was glomping him that he *didn’t* drop her. “W-what?”
Ranma waited until his arms were underneath her again before shrugging one end of the blanket off-shoulder. “You didn’t even notice,” she pouted. “I guess that means you weren’t looking *there,* but… it’s gone. It faded. Like a bruise.”
Ryoga stared blankly at Ranma’s smooth, unblemished collarbone. “Then… why…?”
“You’re sweet and noble and immensely forgiving, which is why you’re not going to clock me right now…” Ranma looked at him hopefully.
“I don’t get it,” Ryoga said, gulping nervously. “So… you *were* playing a trick…”
“Ryoga, darling, why would I have tried to sacrifice my entire life if I was playing some kind of trick?” Ranma murmured sleepily, her head bobbing sleepily against his chest.
Ryoga shook his head in bewilderment. This was true. But if the spell wasn’t working, and Ranma obviously wasn’t playing a game or fooling around—
Then Ranma was in love—honest to goodness love—with *him.* “Why?” he finally managed.
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Ranma said, her voice definitely garbled by now with sleep. “You have lots of good qualities. I love even your silly habits. The way you smile, showing that little fang… the way you blush and put one hand behind your head when you’re embarrassed. Even when the carp faded from my chest, my love didn’t… because I saw you, Ryoga, for the first time.” She yawned.
Ryoga felt his entire body go numb and his gaze unfocus as Ranma relaxed against him, finally drifting off to sleep. Absently, one hand raised to stroke her hair, but he stopped himself just in time.
“Aw, hell,” he swore at himself. “Who’s looking?” and placed a hand protectively on top of her head. There was a strange warmth running through him as he examined her in the moonlight. She was beautiful, stunning really. And she loved him, not because of a spell, but for real. It was dizzying. He wrapped his free arm around her, rose, and banked the fire. He lay the girl down, then sat watching her, afraid something was going to happen to her, to take her away. He didn’t know where the feeling came from, but it was strong. He watched her turn and toss and smile until morning.
He watched her eyes open. “I’m sorry,” he said. It was the first thing he said to her. “You at least deserve a chance.”
Ranma smiled at him, rose, and pecked him on the cheek. “It is for such things that I. Love. You.”
Ryoga smiled at her hesitantly. “And it’s for such things that you freak me out, Ranma.” But he slowly—tentatively—kissed her on the nose in return.
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Author’s Notes:
Whew! I always feel like there’s a driving force for every story. In this case, my impetus is pretty obvious: the koi rod love story.
When I wrote my first fanfiction, *possession,* I thought I had done something completely new by pairing Ranma and Ryoga. In fact, I knew very little about fanfiction or indeed, Ranma ½ itself. I sat down to my computer after watching a total of four to five episodes of the show at the insistence of Kiro, my adoptive brother. Something about the way that the two interacted struck me. Was Ranma flirting? Was Ryoga blushing? I wondered if I was just seeing way too much into things. Then, after I told a particularly hard-core fan about my *possession,* they said that it was just like that koi rod love thing.
I didn’t recognize this, of course, but bit by bit I picked up from various sources the basic skeleton of the plot. Ryoga accidentally catches Ranma with a magic fishing pole of love (talk about your honest-to-goodness symbol here!) Ranma follows him around, doting on him. Later, I found online and by accident page thirty of part 11, no. 4 of Ranma 1/2 – you know, the scene where Ranma pops up outside Ryoga’s tent boiling up miso soup and washing and mending Ryoga’s clothes. Ryoga expresses discomfort at being “waited on by a guy” and Ranma casually soaks himself. “This better?” she queries. And that was all that was on the page.
That was it.
Ages later, it popped up at Knight Dreams on the shelf, and I grabbed and bought both four and five of part eleven the moment they came out. Afterwards, I found myself dissatisfied with the story. Ranma kisses Ryoga on the cheek and that’s *it?!* At the same time, I was intrigued. Ranma and Ryoga’s relationship progresses at lightning speed in comparison with any of the other Ranma ½ relationships—perhaps because it’s doomed in the Takahashi universe. Ranma seems to move at mach ten, I love you, you hate me, I’ll *die for you*—very different from the *I’ll fight for you* that he affords most of the other characters in the series—to *I’ll hurt Akane if she gets in our way.* Ranma’s affection was a million times more violent and passionate than, say, his for Akane. As far as I know, this koi love rod worked better than any of the other love charms in Ranma ½. Either that, or…
Well…
You see where my tale went. As for Akane at the end, I don’t know. I like her, but I get tired of keeping her happy in the stories where I pair Ranma with somebody else. If anybody else would like to go on, they’re welcome to do so.
If anyone is wondering how the spring worked, since Ranma didn’t actually die, consider that the Akaneniichuan exists and yet Akane is alive and kicking.
Finally I would like to give some credit to one of my favorite fairy tales, from which I get the whole Ranma-in-water scene. If you can guess the proper tale (and by this, I mean the one I was thinking of), you get twenty points on the Kirimeter, so send in your responses to Kirinin@aol.com or post them. :)
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