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*****Death Warning - Major Angst***** Revelations, Part One: "Of Life and Love"
"Ranma!" Ranma turned, hearing the desperate concern in Ryoga's voice. What? Another weak spot? Even as Ranma's eyes found his friend running towards him, Ranma felt the shiver in the ground and heard a creaking... He glanced up and saw the ancient oak tree falling... "Ooof," the air went out of his lungs in a rush as Ryoga's shoulder hit him in the chest and Ryoga's arms grabbed him as they both went down. Ranma had a perfect view of the tree framed against the sky as it fell on them. In another second, Ranma's back hit... sand? The sand slowed and broke the fall, lightening the impact of being smashed by the branches and massive trunk of the tree. Ranma could feel Ryoga's body jerking as Ryoga took the full force of the tree, but the blow wasn't carried through to Ranma but rather was absorbed by the sand, displacing the energy into the ground and the sand into the air, out of the hole. After a few seconds of stunned muteness went by, Ranma reflected that this was a good thing, or the sand would have smothered them. It was actually a couple minutes before the tree stopped falling completely, as the branches on the ground snapped and the tree lowered to other branches, which also snapped... Ranma eventually tried moving – he was more or less trapped, no surprise. "Ryoga – can you move at all?" There was silence from his friend and Ranma reflected that that wasn't much of a surprise either – even with Ryoga's incredible resilience, the force that had slammed into him at least equaled the ki punch that Ranma had earlier knocked him out with. But one of Ryoga's other talents was how quickly he bounced back and recovered. Ranma figured he'd give Ryoga a few minutes. Stretching out his feet, Ranma tried to trace how much of him was actually trapped, and how much was just numb. Ryoga lay on top of him, covering his chest and his hips, but he was angled slightly, his head positioned over somewhere to the left of Ranma, and his legs off to the right so Ranma's lower legs were free. Which would be great if I was facing the ground... But the last turn Ranma had taken had him facing his friend when he was tackled. Well, I might be able to do something with that eventually. It'd be easier to wait for Ryoga to wake up. Ryoga's position facing down combined with his great strength would be a lot easier for him to lift portions of the tree until they could both crawl out. The blackness of the area was starting to lighten as Ranma's eyes adjusted to the darkness. Not that it did him any good as he stared at the tree branches above him. Ranma experimentally moved his arms. His right one was definitely stuck – when Ryoga had grabbed him, he'd taken a tight hold – but his left was relatively free – presumably Ryoga had used his right hand for the Breaking Point, loosening his hold on that side. Ranma inched his arm around slowly, trying to bring it around to where he could do something with it. After a while, he realized several minutes had gone by. Ryoga should be waking up any time now. "Ryoga? Hey man... Come on – wake up. I need you to get us out of this." No response. Ranma shrugged slightly – all he was able to do. With his arm free, Ranma could push some of the branches surrounding his head – he really didn't want to poke an eye out with any rapid movements. Ranma turned his head to look past his shoulder at Ryoga's face, tilted towards him, "Oh, you are awake – why didn't you say something?" Ryoga didn't answer, and Ranma uneasily looked at his friend's open eyes. "Ryoga?" A cold pit formed where Ranma's stomach used to be. "Ryoga?" The wide brown eyes didn't move or blink. "Ryoga?" Ranma moved his hand to touch Ryoga's face... The head moved freely, loosely. The eyes didn't. The jaw was slack. "Ryoga?" No... The thought was impossible. It couldn't be. There was no way... "Ryoga?!" Ranma started to shake. No. "No. No. No... Ryoga, wake up!" He slapped his friend lightly. The head rocked slightly before returning to rest with a cheek pressed against the ground, face turned towards Ranma, velvet eyes open, fixed, unseeing. "Noooooo!!!!" Ranma started to weep, "Ryoga, you've got to wake up. You've got to. Ryoga..." My friend... "Ryoga, if you wake up, I'll let you date Akane." Ranma tried a weak smile, "No more pig jokes – I promise." He searched desperately for something else to tempt his friend into waking up. "Ryoga..." Ranma was seriously shaking now, the cold pit that used to be his stomach knotted up and tangled, his lungs constricted and his breathing shallow, all his muscles clenched in hopeless denial. "Ryoga... You're my friend. You can't leave me. You can't." Ranma reached out his hand again and touched Ryoga's cheek gently. The skin was still warm. "Oh, Ryoga." Ranma pressed the side of his face into the ground and let the tears fall freely. After awhile, Ranma became aware that the skin he was touching was getting colder. No... "Ryoga! Don't leave me!! You're my best friend! You can't!! You can't! You can't..." A part of himself was being torn in half. A part that he hadn't known was himself. It was Ryoga. His friend. Ranma turned his head to look back up at the branches. Or he tried to. He couldn't tear his gaze off of his friend's face. The strong cheekbones, the pug nose, the stupid yellow and black bandanna, the black hair that fell over it... "Ryoga..." Ranma didn't want to keep looking at it – he tried to close his own eyes and the most he could do was blink. The tears washing out the sides kept his eyes open, but mercifully blurred his vision. But his mind's eye could see only too well. Ryoga scowling. Ryoga depressed. Ryoga grinning. The last image used to be rare, but was becoming more and more frequent as they got to know each other and work together instead of just fighting. They were a rare team – able to coordinate and move together without actually talking. They complimented each other's strengths and weaknesses. They learned from each other. And they both had the same taste in women. "Come-on Ryoga – who'll defend Akane's honor if you're not there?" Ranma rolled his head to the other side, unmindful of the branches that slapped his face. "Pop warned me about this." He'd said friends could hurt you. Friends could take your life-blood and turn it cold. Friends would desert you when you needed them most. Just as Ryoga has... Genma had no problem with Ranma making friends in the first place – just as long as Ranma never got too attached to any of them. Ranma had known since he was a kid that they would always be moving and leaving, and hadn't really paid that much attention to that part of his dad's instructions, but neither had never put all that much into the friendships he'd had. When they'd leave a town, he'd cheerfully wave and say goodbye to his friends and then promptly wouldn't think of them again, waiting for the next town and the next group of people. But then they'd come to the Tendo Dojo. And stayed. I guess you can't exactly leave a fiancée... But Pop had stayed too. Stayed with his old friend Soun Tendo... And had watched his son make new friends and had said nothing. The tears kept rolling down Ranma's face, "Pop, is this what you meant? Is this the coldness and pain that comes from having friends? Why didn't you warn me? Why didn't you keep me from this? Why..." But his real question of 'why' wasn't directed at his dad. "Ryoga..." It hurt. It hurt badly. Worse than any pain he'd ever felt before. "Ryoga," he kept saying his friend's name in a variety of emotions. Denial, hurt, anger, sadness, frustration,... pleading was the most common. Pleading with his friend to come back. Pleading for the world not to be this cruel. Pleading. He'd never had any pain in his life that hurt like this. None that crept into the center of his being and tore itself out. It couldn't be. It just wasn't so. "Ryoga, remember that time when we..." Ranma trailed off, feeling as helpless as he'd ever been in his life. This was something that he could do nothing about – and it was the thing that hurt the most in his life. And Ranma had thought he had been helpless as the moxibustion had burned his strength out of his body. That was nothing. Nothing at all. "Ryoga..." He turned his head back again. Ryoga's eyes were still the same rich brown they'd always been, but without the person. Whether Ryoga was angry, depressed, or laughing, those eyes had always had a spark in them. The spark wasn't there. The skin under his fingers was cold now. Cold, and... "No." Ranma trailed his fingers back and forth over Ryoga's cheek. This is impossible. "Ryoga, come on, please wake up. Please. I've never begged for anything in my life – never for reals, that is. Please. I'll do anything you want. If you want me to back off and let you have Akane, I will. I will. Please. Please, Ryoga." His life had been torn in two. And Ranma didn't think he could live that way. His life was over – his friend was... dead. There. He'd said it. He'd said what he'd been denying. The truth. And Ranma felt nothing, for there was nothing left. Nothing. Ranma stirred, and was surprised when he couldn't move. He'd almost forgotten that they were trapped under this tree. He became aware of how cold he was – and suddenly knew a stab of fear that had nothing to do with his friend. He glanced around, trying to move the parts of himself that could. He was cold, and stiff, and loosing heat rapidly... and still stuck under the tree. Ranma glanced desperately to his friend, "Ryoga! You've got to help me out here! I can't get out of this without you. Ryoga, come back. Please Ryoga. I need you." Until he'd spoken the words, Ranma had not known how true they were. He needed Ryoga. He needed his friend. For more than just getting them out of this ridiculous situation. He needed his friend to make him whole. "Ryoga! Come back, please. I need you." Now that it was too late, he admitted how much he needed his friend.
Ryoga looked around at the white expanse. The ground was white, in rolling mists. The sky was white. The air was just about white. Where am I? In Antarctica or something? But he seemed to vaguely recognize it... Oh yeah, he smacked his fist into his palm lightly – making no noise. He remembered now – he'd had a dream like this when he was a kid. Ryoga smiled; it had been such a restful dream – very hard to wake up from. He was happy that he was having the same dream again – I always had wanted to go back. But he'd never found his way here again. I must be unconscious. No surprise there. Ryoga stretched his back muscles feeling nebulous memories of the pain of the tree crashing on him. I hope I finished the Breaking Point in time to shield Ranma. He worried for a moment, then put it aside; he'd wake up soon enough and that would be the time to do something. Right now, though... Ryoga tilted his head, listening to the sound of rushing water in the distance. He smiled, feeling his worries and concerns leeching out of him, Right now, it's time to rest. He walked in the formless features of his unconsciousness. He knew why this was so peaceful – no marks, no distinctions in the landscape. No place to be, no place to go. A truly pointless wandering. Wandering was what he did best, but it got so frustrating when he never knew where he was. Here, was everywhere, so he could wander as much as he wanted to and still be here. Ryoga smiled at the paradox. Apparently even a paradox had its limitations. After some meaningless amount of time, Ryoga saw the river that he'd been hearing. It was a streak of blue in the white, but appropriately, it was white-water rapids, with the water's foam white upon the blue. Ryoga stopped and stared at it, wow – it's huge. This close to the river, there were other landscaping features spotting up in the white expanse. Rocks, trees – Ryoga could hear sounds other than the rumble of the river. Birds, insects. But no people. This place was empty. Empty except for him. Ryoga stirred uneasily; this was different than his memories of the other dream. Before, he'd just wandered in the featureless white expanse before he woke up and saw both his parents at his bedside. He sighed with age-old regret. He and his parents loved each other so much... but they could rarely all be together in the same place at the same time. They were always getting lost. Lost. 'Hey, Ryoga – don't get lost, will ya?' Ryoga sighed, this time with a certain amount of impatience – like he really had any control over it? But he should be getting back to Ranma. This was about as lost as one could get. But Ranma was waiting. And there was the small matter of the tree on top of them... Ryoga glanced to the other side of the river where there stood a giant tree that looked very like the one at the mouth of the canyon. That tree had probably lived for hundreds and hundreds of years... And it was our training that brought it down. On impulse, he sketched a bow in the tree's direction, "Sorry about that." "Now..." Ryoga glanced away from the river, "How do I wake up?" It felt like those times when it was early morning – or just after going to sleep; when one was asleep and dreaming, but there was something that had to be attended to – someone had entered the room, or it was just time to get up, but the dream was so gripping and it was so hard to wake up... Those early morning dreams were hard to wake up from – the feeling was of swimming through a deep pool that was sucking one down even as one struggled to get out. And then half the time, waking up was never worth it. Ryoga sighed, wishing he could just rest here and not worry about regaining consciousness. When he woke up, all his problems and worries would still be facing him. All his disappointments and frustrations. Ranma's overwhelming ego and confidence – and Akane's sweet caring without the extra depth that she gave to Ranma. Ryoga sighed, picturing Akane in his mind. Sweet Akane. Who held P-chan so gently. Who treated Ryoga with such courtesy. Who was so happy to see him... But she always stayed with Ranma. And who could blame her? Ryoga sat down in the mists and stared out over the river. It seemed much closer than it had been, but who could tell perspective in this place? He glanced away from the river, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on them. I should just stay here. I don't have to worry about anything here. Everything will be fine without me. Ranma will marry Akane and they'll live their lives without the interfering annoyance that keeps stumbling into their lives and then out of it again. Suddenly, Ryoga wondered what was on the other side of the river. He raised his head and stared out at it. Wild and powerful, the river rushed on, over the rocks that broke it and threw it high in the air. The river was an entity that could never be conquered. Forded, perhaps, rafted, swum in... but never conquered. Ryoga smiled, recognizing a certain amount of Ranma's spirit in the river. No matter what beat Ranma down, he always found a way of finding his feet again – He was like the river, rushing ever on, relentless and powerful, sweeping lesser forces under his wake. The only way to stand with Ranma was to be like the Rock in the middle – standing firm under the surge of water and forcing it to part around. But even a rock can be worn down, eventually. Ryoga stared across the river and wondered what was on the other side. It wasn't like this side, featureless and formless. There were things over there. Sounds. People? He stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the water. Then he turned his head. Ranma? He'd have sworn he heard Ranma's voice. It was the feeling that tugged and pulled him when he was lost and wandering. The thing that pulled him back to the Tendo Dojo time and time again. Usually to Akane's arms in his guise as P-chan, but sometimes to Ranma. But what would Ranma need me for now? He glanced over the river at the tree, hasn't he gotten out yet? But who could say how much time had passed while he was here. It was hard to tell time when one was unconscious. Ryoga sighed, I guess I better get back. But, boy, my body's going to hurt when I wake up. He started to walk back into the white expanse, away from the river. The feeling from Ranma was getting more urgent. "Hold your horses, Ranma – I'm coming already." Ryoga walked into the white mist... And stopped as he stared at the river in front of him. Damn. Lost in my own dream. But there was something about that river... He could still faintly feel Ranma, but in front of him was a new call – a stronger one. One that called him to come to the river and to the other side. Ryoga frowned, he hated being manipulated. And Ranma needs me. But he had to admit he was curious. With an effort, he turned away again. And found himself at the cliff edge. He sat down, this is going to be a hard dream to wake up from – I can tell. It might help if he rested a bit first. Ryoga stared at the white foam of the river, losing himself in the abstraction of the moment.
Ranma lifted his head. Or tried to. He wasn't able to move much. But he didn't even notice his failure to complete his action as his attention was suddenly riveted. "Ryoga?" he breathed out his friend's name in a voice that for the first time in a very long time held nebulous hope. "Ryoga?" He glanced at Ryoga's face. It was unchanged. The open eyes... But Ranma had felt his friend. He would have sworn it. Did swear it. For just a moment. A touch. A whisper through the branches. He'd felt the spark that was Ryoga. Ranma glanced to the body and realized for the first time that that wasn't Ryoga. It wasn't the body or the form. It was the something inside that made a person himself. Just like Ryoga was trying to tell me earlier. "Ryoga?" But Ranma couldn't feel the spark any more. It was gone like it had never been there. My imagination. But if it was his imagination... then why hadn't he imagined it earlier? When he was ready and eager to feel it? When he'd been willing to fool himself into thinking his friend was just unconscious – not dead? What was different, that he felt it now? Ranma thought about the feelings that he'd been going through. And slowly realized, I needed him. Before, I just wanted him back. But just now... I really, truly needed him. And Ryoga had always responded to need. Ranma remembered the times he'd shown up unexpectedly. Most recently was when Happosai had burned him with the moxibustion. Ryoga had shown up twice then – first when Ranma was being beaten up and had just about given up all hope, and then Ryoga had shown up and not only saved him, but had renewed Ranma's confidence in his friends – not all of them were idiots. Ryoga... And then when Ranma had needed somebody to practice with. Ryoga had shown up again. When Ranma had thought it was hopeless – when he'd thought there was no chance at all. Ryoga came. And earlier, fighting against the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists. First Shampoo had saved him, and then Ryoga. They had saved him, and then waited, waited for Ranma to finish his fight. And as Ryoga had brought up earlier – the Oni. The Oni that Ranma had been so confident that he could beat. He'd made all the wards... Too bad he hadn't checked the damn symbol first! Another lesson learned there. As Ryoga had said at the time – 'Don't let your guard down.' Ever. He'd been scared when he saw the Oni coming towards him. He'd discounted the true power of the demon, hidden as it had been behind the humans it inhabited. Ryoga had saved him. Saved him from the demon, saved him from himself. Ranma had thought he was dead meat when Ryoga had suddenly jumped down in front of him, calling out his Breaking Point on the roof tiles. "Hey, wait a second..." Ranma blinked, "Ryoga, you son-of-a-bitch!" Remembering the Oni incident had reminded him of Ryoga's earlier explanations of the Breaking Point. 'The Breaking Point on a rock... first I have to see it—' Ranma chewed on that, getting more irritated, "That first fight we had... A human body doesn't have a Breaking Point – and you knew that the whole damn time! Since you couldn't feel it, it wasn't there, but you kept on towards me like it was there... That whole fight – the whole time I was blocking you and running from you, and... the point of the whole thing wasn't to beat me, but to scare me stiffless. Why you... You bastard!!!!" And then Ranma let go of his anger in laughter. His ego had gotten too big for even Ryoga. And Ryoga had deflated it nicely. With Cologne's help. And hiding his intentions from even himself. Ryoga was good at that. On the Dragon Ascension Wave training... Neither Ryoga nor Ranma had even noticed that Ryoga wasn't fighting for real – because Ryoga never did and never had fought for real. "Ryoga... You've been my friend all along, haven't you?" Ranma looked at the body. His friend wasn't coming back this time. Death was final. His friend was truly lost now. And Ranma was alone. Truly alone. For the first time since he'd met Ryoga. He remembered the first time he'd seen Ryoga. He'd been on his way to school, feeling annoyed and resentful and shamed... Some school official had finally caught up with Pop and forced him into sending Ranma to school. But the tests that Ranma had taken had put him in the very lowest bracket. Making him feel inadequate for the first time in his life. He'd been walking to school, on the fence-tops, when he saw this kid in the same school uniform – walking the opposite direction. Ranma had been curious, and had followed at a distance. He watched as the kid asked directions from several morning vendors opening their shops – and never once headed in the right direction afterwards. He had wandered until he came to a small knot of High School students that were grouped around something. A yelp of pain had announced what they were doing, and Ranma had tensed himself to jump in... and before he could move, the kid he'd been following exploded into action. Ranma settled back on the roof and watched. Within moments, the High Schoolers had been dispersed and the kid was tending the wounds on the small dog. "Poor fellow, you're as lost as I am, aren't you?" But there had been another voice and a young girl came out from behind a car, "Mister? I was so scared... I couldn't help him... I couldn't do anything... He's my best friend and all I could do was watch..." She was crying and crying. And the kid had put the dog in her arms, and patted her on the head, and recommended a good dojo... And left. Ranma had followed again. This time, they actually made it to school. Half-way though the morning classes. First day at a new school... But it had been interesting and he was determined to introduce himself to the kid later on. But he didn't quite know how... At lunch time, when the bread was being tossed out... Ranma couldn't resist the opportunity. Here was a chance to show this talented kid that here was an opponent worth his mettle. And so the first step in their friendship had been taken. Upon reflection, Ranma figured that that really hadn't been a very smart way to go about it. How to alienate the very person he wanted to make friends with... But Ranma had never known any other way. The only way he knew to make friends was to challenge them – to show them he cared by fighting with them. By matching his strength with theirs. What a great way to make friends... But Ryoga hadn't minded – had even enjoyed the competitions. They'd been friends. They'd been good friends. Until China. Ranma still wasn't quite sure what had made Ryoga so bitter. But they'd persevered through the anger and misunderstandings until now he and Ryoga were at the point where they acknowledged their friendship openly again. ...had been at the point... Ranma switched his thoughts to the past tense as he stared at the dead body of his friend. "Why now, Ryoga? Why leave me now? Just when I finally realize what a friend truly is? Ryoga..." 'He's my best friend, and all I could do was watch...' Ranma blinked, realizing what it was that drove Ryoga so, I fight to be the best... Ryoga fights so he can do something when he's needed. And that's why he'd tackled Ranma and protected him from the tree. Because Ranma hadn't known the tree was falling. Because Ranma had needed him right then – even if he hadn't known it himself. Ryoga didn't care about things like personal safety when somebody needed him. He acted. He acted and he helped people. And Ranma still needed his friend. He still needed him. The hole in his heart was so great that Ranma didn't even care that the rest of himself was cold and numb. He didn't even know how many hours had passed by outside. Night had fallen and he could barely see. But he didn't need to see. He remembered Ryoga only too well. Too well to try and save himself. There was no point. Maybe... Maybe if Ranma died, he could find his friend on the other side. He was sure that even in death, Ryoga couldn't find his way. Maybe Ranma could help him... It was the only thing he could do.
Ryoga sat up, blinking in surprise. The river had just moved back. Huh? He'd been watching it, watching the ripples and patterns in the water... And now there was an expanse of whiteness between him and the blueness. And now... And now he could hear the jangling in his soul that spoke of a friend in trouble. It had been overwhelmed by the sound of the river. But now it was like fingernails over a chalkboard. "Ranma?" He stood up, "Ranma, you idiot – what trouble are you in now?" He started forward, determined to get to his friend. And found he couldn't move through the mists. They caught him, pulled at him, held him where he was. But Ryoga didn't feel restful anymore. He was determined. His friend needed him and he was going to get to him. Moving one leg forward, then the other... Slowly Ryoga moved away from the river. But the effort was tremendous. It was harder than waking up in the morning. Much harder. For the first time, Ryoga knew a stab of doubt, Can I wake up? He focused on the feeling that was his friend and moved grimly forward. "Ranma..."
Ranma blinked, opening his eyes slowly. "Ryoga?" He shook his head – he'd been asleep and dreaming. He'd dreamed... Ryoga's face was in front of him, dimly lit by the moon filtered through the branches. It hadn't been a dream. Ranma laid his head back down again, closing his eyes. There was no point. No point... And then he tried to sit up. Not managing it very well. "Ryoga?" Ranma glanced around. This time it wasn't his imagination. It hadn't been his imagination before. Ryoga was there. Somewhere. Ranma knew that he himself was dying; hypothermia was setting in, and Ranma might have been able to get out earlier but had delayed too long and didn't have the strength now. But apparently that was something Ryoga didn't want, because he was here. "What? You don't want me to join you? Selfish bastard." And Ranma shook his head, clearing the cobwebs out, trying to think beyond the sluggish movements of his blood. Ryoga's dead... But I'm feeling him. What, exactly, am I feeling? It wasn't the body. That had no life in it at all. Ranma belatedly remembered his training and closed his eyes and centered his self. When he was perfectly in tune with himself, Ranma saw the ki patterns around him. And saw the one that was Ryoga. It was a faint spark, barely there. It was hovering around the ki that was Ranma, pushing at him, lighting up with small bursts to try and get Ranma's energy moving... You idiot. Ranma repeated his thought outloud, "You're dead, you idiot, and you're trying to help me?" He smiled at the thought – Ryoga never gave up. Even after he was dead, he still tried to help his friends. Ryoga's ki was so faint, so barely there... Ranma watched it, his heart aching. If only I'd known you were there earlier... But Ryoga hadn't been there earlier. He'd just shown up. This faint spark. This essence so little of what Ryoga was... Ryoga's ki was normally a bright flame, standing out in the light of the day, burning with power and energy. Ranma blinked, opening his eyes, but continuing to watch the ki. Wait a second... If Ryoga's barely a spark... What would happen if he was a flame once more? Could he come back? If he had the energy, could he come back? A wild hope was springing up within Ranma, pushing the tiredness aside. "Ryoga..." I've been practicing for the last two days on how to gather ki... and use it to attack. But I don't want to hurt Ryoga... I want to give him the energy, I want him to live again. I want my friend back. Ranma glanced around him with his mind's eye, looking for other ki that was always swirling around. Most of it from their earlier fights had already dissipated, sinking into the ground, gone. But when the tree had fallen, it had released a great deal of energy and most of that was still there. Ranma gathered it in. He pulled it to him, shaped it, held it within him... It wasn't to be a destructive power, this energy was going to go to his friend. The patterns he shaped instinctively were destructive... Ranma struggled with himself to find a pattern that would augment Ryoga's ki. He kept glancing to the little spark that was still hovering. The spark was losing power, he could tell. Ryoga, his heart clenched inside of him, don't you dare go yet. I don't know why you came back – okay, I know why you came back, but you can't go yet. Not until I can give you this energy. Not until you can come back for real. Not until I have my friend again. Come back, Ryoga, please... The energy he was struggling with suddenly formed itself into the right pattern. Yes! Now to try and get it to Ryoga... His hand open on Ryoga's cheek, Ranma slowly pushed the energy out into Ryoga's body – and at the ki spark. The energy left him, moved through Ryoga's body, sank into it... And started to fade. No! Ranma pulled more energy, and more. He gathered in all the energy he could find. And he poured it all into Ryoga. The spark didn't get any brighter, though it did stop dwindling. Whenever Ranma would let up on putting energy in, the spark would start to fade again. And it wouldn't go back to the body. Ryoga, you idiot – there... You have to go there. Forget about me – go back into your body. Come back to me, Ryoga. Please. My friend. But it wasn't Ryoga's fault. It was Ranma's. The energy wasn't right, somehow. Somehow Ranma wasn't doing the right thing. And he had to. He really had to. The spark started fading again, and Ranma pulled more energy, but he was getting desperate. He couldn't find enough energy. It has to work. It's got to work. I've got to succeed at this. If nothing else, this. Nothing in my life has ever mattered as much as this. I've got to succeed. I have to. Finally, the only energy left was Ranma's own. And his energy was barely a smidgen of what it normally was. He was too tired and had spent too much earlier in the day. But he couldn't stop now. He watched the little spark. And poured all he had into it.
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Notes to Chapter 2: – All those bits about Ranma and Ryoga's junior high years are added, and their childhood memories too. I write stories to explain to myself things about the characters that are never made clear or left vague in the series. The new techniques in ch 1 were also added. |