Subject: [FFML] [REFUGE][Ranma/Neon Genesis Xover] A Couple of Angels, chapter 13 by Corwin
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Date: 7/27/2001, 11:01 PM
To: "FFML" <ffml@anifics.com>

To reply, post publically or e-mail the author at <ely7@inter.net.il>
Enjoy!

The FFML Refugee List

Disclaimer time: Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Communications
own Ranma 1/2. Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Gainax and ADV Films own
Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A big thanks to my pre-readers for this chapter: Merc-for-Hire and Thomas
Hackwood.

Corwin (ely7@inter.net.il or corwin@virtuallyjeannie.com)
http://www.virtuallyjeannie.com/ranma.html

* Previous chapters can also be found at:
http://members.xoom.com/phu_lam/index.htm
http://tannim.anifics.com/rfics.html
http://ranmaxovers.tripod.com

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--------------------------------------------------

A Couple of Angels

Chapter 13

Ritsuko exited Misato's car, watching her friend speed off home.

'She has someone waiting for her at home, unlike some people,' Ritsuko
thought bitterly, deciding to take a walk around the neighborhood to clear
her head.

It seemed that recently everything started falling apart around her. Ranko's
absence, the new pilot who didn't even know what he was getting into, Ranma
apparently burning out and the hostile AT fields that started appearing
around that time.

And now... and now Gendo was sending her away on a long mission to the South
Pole. Didn't he love her anymore? Had she outlived her usefulness?

Ritsuko was so occupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice the car
coming right at her until it was too late. After getting over the initial
shock a split-second later, she tried to jump sideways for cover, already
knowing she wouldn't make it in time. Ritsuko closed her eyes and prayed
that she would live through the imminent accident, when a bright light swept
through the entire area. The Doctor waited for the imminent impact, but when
that didn't come she opened her eyes slowly.

The car crashed into a translucent barrier mere millimeters away from her
body, its front bumper completely ruined. The AT field then winked out of
existence and squinting her eyes, Ritsuko could see a pigtailed boy lower
his right arm, letting it drop freely to his side.

"Hello, Rit-chan," he said simply, locking his eyes with hers.

--------------------------------------------------

"Ranma!" Ritsuko exclaimed, rushing over to the boy. "What are you doing
here?"

"Nothing important," he replied with a shrug.

"You call saving my life unimportant?"

"You were unharmed... but the driver of that car wasn't as fortunate," Ranma
said bitterly, turning away. "Maybe it would'a been better if I wasn't
here."

"I see," Ritsuko muttered with a frown.

Laughing, he asked her sarcastically, "Do you, really?"

"I have to make those choices every time someone pilots an Evangelion."

"I see," Ranma said, mirroring Ritsuko's expression from earlier.

The blond scientist walked over to the wreckage of the car and checked the
young woman in the driver's seat for her pulse.

"She's alive," Ritsuko told Ranma after returning back to where he stood,
calmly observing her. "Let's call an ambulance and get out of here."

Nodding curtly, Ranma was about to jump onto a nearby rooftop, when Ritsuko
stopped him in his tracks, putting an arm on his shoulder.

"Please don't go away," she said tersely.

Not looking back at her, he replied, "I could hurt you."

"I'm living on borrowed time; we all are. Please, Ranma..."

"Alright."

The pigtailed boy turned around and looked at Ritsuko expectantly. Giving
him an uncertain smile, she started walking towards her apartment, with
Ranma at her side.

--------------------------------------------------

"You have a nice place," Ranma said to his companion, upon entering her
apartment and taking a look around.

"Thank you," the Doctor replied curtly, taking off her shoes and walking to
the kitchen. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asked, opening the
refrigerator door.

"No, I'm fine."

Ritsuko shrugged, and searched for some iced coffee. Not finding any, she
massaged her temples with a sigh. 'Just my luck,' the woman thought bitterly
and took a small bottle of mineral water out of the upper shelf of the
fridge. Closing the door, Ritsuko opened the bottle and took a long sip.

"Suit yourself."

"So... what now?" Ranma asked suddenly.

Ritsuko's head whipped to look at him, but the pigtailed boy's face gave no
clues as to his state of mind. Ranma was still standing at the same place
near the doorway, glancing at her impassively. Deciding to play it safe lest
she be caught in a lie, Ritsuko simply answered, "I don't know. My goal was
to bring you back with me."

"Why?"

"To save you," she blurted out, before flushing in embarrassment at her
slip.

"I think it's too late for that," Ranma said coldly, turning around as if to
leave the apartment.

"You're wrong!" Ritsuko exclaimed. Gritting her teeth in frustration when
the boy ignored her and tried to open the door, she threw the half-empty
bottle she had been holding at it. Water splashed everywhere, incidentally
dousing Ranma, who wasn't fast enough to avoid it. Ritsuko gasped, when
Ranma became shorter and sported red hair instead of black.

Turning around to face the Doctor, Ranma-chan pulled the wet bangs out of
her face and asked, "Do you still want to save me?" with a snort.

"Ranma... you... Ranko..." Ritsuko stammered, trying to understand what had
just happened in front of her.

"It's been real, Rit-chan," Ranma threw over her shoulder, reaching for the
door's handle once more.

Getting over her stupor and realizing that if she allowed the red-head to
leave, she were not likely to see her - any of them, really - again, Ritsuko
ran towards it and slammed the door shut. Grabbing Ranma by her shoulders,
she turned the girl around until they faced each other.

"I... I don't understand what exactly happened just now... or how..."
Closing her eyes for a few moments to clear her head, Ritsuko continued,
"But you can't leave! Not now!"

"Why?"

"If you go out of that door... if you don't get any help fast..."

Ranma just continued to watch the blond woman calmly, not betraying any
emotion.

"Do you want to fight them?" Ritsuko asked all of a sudden, and was rewarded
with a twitch of Ranma's eyebrow. "That's why you ran away in the first
place, didn't you? You wanted to keep them all safe."

"So what if I did?" Ranma shot back, giving Ritsuko a glare. "If I go back,
they'll be hurt."

"They'll be hurt anyway!" Ritsuko shouted at the red-head. "You know that as
well as I do! The recent appearances of AT fields point to it. You can't
control your nature, can you?"

Ranma lowered her head, whispering, "Maybe it's time to end it all."

Ritsuko gasped, getting the meaning of his words. Ranma wasn't even fifteen
yet! How could she... how could she even...

Ranma's head reeled backwards from Ritsuko's slap.

"What is it with women and slapping?!" the red-head yelled angrily, rubbing
her sore cheek.

"Do you think that's what they want you to do? Do you want to force them to
kill you with their own hands?!" Ritsuko asked her in fury, shaking the
smaller girl by her shoulders. "How can you be so conceited?! So
self-centered? Do you even think of others besides yourself?!" The scientist
sighed, and rubbed her temples. "I thought Rei and Asuka were your friends.
Was that all just a lie?"

Her anger leaving her shortly after, Ritsuko closed her eyes and braced
herself for Ranma's imminent counter-attack. She briefly wondered why she
had struck a person capable of tearing an Angel with their own hands, but
reasoned with herself that it was too late for such concerns. However,
seconds ticked away and nothing happened. Ritsuko's brow furrowed in
confusion, and she was about to open her eyes when she heard muffled sobs
reaching her ears.

Glancing at where Ranma had stood earlier, Ritsuko was rewarded with an
image of a softly crying girl lying on her floor. That was so different from
the image of her strong savior or the cocky EVA pilot that she was used
to... the image was disturbing, even to her. Had Ranma been putting up a
front all this time? Were they... was she at least partially responsible for
his breakdown? Ritsuko decided to worry about all of that later, and try to
do her best to help Ranma in the meanwhile.

Squatting on the floor next to the red-head, she gathered her into a hug.

"It's okay, Ranma. I... I'm sorry," she said awkwardly, swallowing slightly.

"She's not... my friend... anymore," Ranma sobbed, her voice breaking on the
last word. "I have no friends... they all die... or hate me..."

"No, you're wrong!" Ritsuko cried out, grabbing the girl's chin and forcing
her to raise her head until their gazes locked. "No one just quits being a
friend to someone."

"But... after what I did..."

What did he do?! Ritsuko almost rushed over to the phone to call Misato and
ask her friend if she knew anything, when she noticed how Ranma looked. All
the pilots were accounted for, and since 'Ranko' disappeared many weeks ago,
whatever had happened between her and the others had to happen before that.
Was that why Ranma ran away? Was it because... Ranma thought that...
everyone hated him? That no one loved him anymore? If he thought that...
then he was wrong! All one had to do was look Rei or Asuka in the eyes in
the last few weeks to know that.

But Ranma wasn't there. There was no way he would know, and he wouldn't just
blindly believe anything she told him at this point. However, what if...

"They all hate you? Good! That means they still care about you enough to
hate you!"

Ranma looked at Ritsuko curiously, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her
left hand.

"Trust me, Ranma... being hated is much better than being ignored. Much
better."

"I don't... don't want them to die."

I don't want you to die, too! And neither of the other pilots. But good
intentions weren't enough in thiscase. His power was unstable, and he knew
it. Unless he got help and fast...

"I can help you, Ranma. I know I can. Just give me a chance... please..."

Ranma thought about it for a long moment, before nodding tersely. "If you
can help... alright. But I can't go back... not just yet."

Smiling at the red-head warmly, Ritsuko asked, "Water changes you back,
doesn't it?" Receiving another nod in return, she offered Ranma a chance to
resume her normal form. This time, Ranma shook her head to the negative.
"Why not?" Ritsuko asked, wondering if perhaps she had made a mistake in
assuming that Ranma's real form was male.

"Because men don't cry," Ranma replied, burying her face in Ritsuko's
shoulder as sobs wreaked her body once more.

--------------------------------------------------

Ritsuko watched Ranma hungrily gulp down the dinner that she had prepared
for both of them. The pigtailed boy flashed her a quick smile between bites,
before resuming eating. Ritsuko knew that he was just putting up a tough
front, but it didn't matter to her. Ranma had accepted her offer of help,
and that was all that mattered.

She had often wondered what was it about him that struck a chord in her
heart. Did he remind her of Misato, a girl that tried to act like the
terrible tragedy in her past never happened, yet never managing to escape
from its shadow?

Or was it something different altogether? By allying herself with an Angel,
she would be a major player once again. Gendo would not - could not -
discard her as easily then. Even Seele wouldn't be able to do a thing, if
she were to try and wrestle control over Nerv from the Commander...

Ritsuko sighed, drawing a questioning glance from Ranma. She put a hand to
her forehead, explaining that it had been a bad day and that she was
exhausted. It wasn't exactly a lie, and it served its purpose - Ranma
offered her a few words of sympathy and resumed eating.

It had been all too easy to manipulate the poor boy. Ritsuko inwardly wanted
to be doubted, to have him watch over every move she made... yet he did none
of the sort. That kind of total trust unnerved her to no end. Was the boy
that desperate for a friend that he immediately latched onto the first
person that managed to stay around long enough to penetrate the wall of fake
indifference he had built around himself?

Could she even help him? Was there a way, or was she only trying to find
herself a pet? Ranma acted so much like a cat when she thought about it...
was her offer to him only a way to replace an animal she loved, yet had no
time to take care of herself?

Seeing that Ranma was finished with his dinner, Ritsuko took the dishes to
the kitchen and rinsed them quickly. Upon returning to the living room, she
took a spare futon out of a closet and spread it on the ground for Ranma.
Ritsuko apologized for not having a spare bed for him to sleep in, but the
boy waved her excuses off, explaining that he usually had even less
throughout his life.

Did he really have such a harsh life? Ritsuko knew that life after Second
Impact was often hell, especially to young orphans. However, something told
her that this was not the case here. While Ranma had no problem explaining
to her how his curse worked and where he got it, all of her subtle attempts
to pry information about his parents and training were met with heavy
silence. Sensing that it was obviously a loaded topic, Ritsuko decided to
avoid it for the time being, lest she lose Ranma's trust in her. Given that
said trust bordered on absolute, she shuddered to think what dark secrets
Ranma's past harbored.

--------------------------------------------------

"Good morning, Rit-chan!"

Ritsuko blinked, and rubbed at her sleepy eyes. When her vision refocused,
she was treated to a sight of Ranma in an apron setting the table. Upon
looking closely, the blond woman noticed that aside for two steaming
teacups, the table seemed to contain two plates with vegetables, soybeans
and rice.

"Is that..."

"Stir fry, one of my specialties!" Ranma announced proudly, puffing out his
chest.

Ritsuko couldn't help but giggle at his proclamation, in turn making Ranma
look himself over. Blushing furiously, the boy hastily discarded the apron
and hid it behind his back.

"It's good to see you so energetic, Ranma," Ritsuko said warmly, taking a
seat by the table.

Ranma's facial expression contorted for a moment, but as he was on the way
to the kitchen to put the borrowed apron back, Ritsuko saw none of it.
Putting on a happy smile on his face once more, the pigtailed boy turned
around and walked to sit opposite of the Doctor.

"This is really good, Ranma," Ritsuko commented, taking a sip of her tea to
help wash down the food.

"I suppose," Ranma said absently between bites.

Her curiosity and impulses getting the better of her, Ritsuko asked, "Did
your mother teach you to cook like that?"

Ranma put his chopsticks down, staring at his host for a few long moments.
Eventually, when Ritsuko was afraid she had accidentally touched a taboo, he
shrugged and lowered his head to look at his plate.

"I did get a chance to cook with my mom once. It was fun, even if it almost
killed me." Ranma sighed, shaking his head. "But no, none of my parents
taught me how to cook. I just picked a few things on the road, and at the
various dojos Pop and I visited on our training trip."

"It must've been rough on you," Ritsuko couldn't help but say.

Shrugging once again, Ranma replied, "I dunno. It was the only life I knew."
His eyes igniting with life suddenly, he sighed wistfully. "I met my very
first friend on the road. Ucchan..."

"Ucchan?"

"She's dead now. I don't want to talk anymore."

Before Ritsuko could say anything, Ranma stood up, took a step backwards and
vanished.

Panicking, Ritsuko cried out desperately, "Ranma, I'm sorry for prying..."

"That's alright," a disembodied voice cut her off. "I just want to go for a
short walk to clear my head. Please leave the dishes in the kitchen... I'll
do them when I get back."

The front door opened and closed shortly afterwards. Ritsuko sighed, a small
smile dancing on her lips.

'Ranma's really committed himself to this... he'll be back.'

For some obscure reason, that thought warmed her heart.

--------------------------------------------------

Getting back from work the following day, Ritsuko opened the door to her
apartment and stepped inside. The time of her assignment was approaching,
and it was getting more and more difficult to keep on a straight face and
act casual. That Ranma still hadn't returned yet before she left for Nerv
Headquarters in the morning didn't help her mood any. To top it all off,
every moment she could feel eyes on her; eyes watching her every movement,
as if waiting for her to foul up so that she could be cancelled.

That was impossible, wasn't it? She still had a use for Nerv, a use for the
Commander... didn't she?

Ritsuko shook her head to clear it of those depressing thoughts and stepped
inside, to see Ranma sitting in her living room with his back to the
entrance. Without turning around or acknowledging her presence in any way,
he spoke suddenly, catching the blond scientist off guard.

"My father... the only thing he ever cared about in his life was to make me
into the best martial artist ever. I... I really hated that; hated him.
Hated myself for loving martial arts despite all this.

"Still, I always thought he loved me. It's funny how things are. There were
signs - subtle signs - that he cared. Cared about his investment, about his
student. And, since I was both, I thought...

"He was my father! We spent over a decade on the road together, training...
just the two of us. He had to love me!"

Ranma lowered his face into his hands, Ritsuko staring at him quietly.
Deciding to try and do something, she started walking towards him, just as
the boy resumed his monologue quietly.

"When they came... he... he ran..."

"It's alright, Ranma. You don't have to talk abou..." Ritsuko stopped in
mid-sentence as she caught a whiff of Ranma. Frowning, the Doctor asked,
"Are you drunk?"

"I dunno. How do you know when you're drunk?"

Ritsuko thought to chastise Ranma for his behavior, but couldn't do it for
some reason. Sometimes, it seemed that everyone was against you and the only
thing you could do to escape your problems was...

"Hang on, Ranma. Let me grab some sake and I'll join you."

Ranma glanced a Ritsuko curiously for a moment, before shrugging.

"S'your home. Do what you want."

She returned a few moments later with a bottle of sake and two empty
glasses. Pouring herself a glass, she downed its contents quickly, putting
the bottle on the table. Ranma took the silent invitation and poured sake
into the other glass. Raising the cup until it was next to his face, he
titled the glass slightly and looked at Ritsuko through it.

"Bad day for you too?" the pigtailed boy asked, shaking the glass a bit and
admiring the visage of his host through the liquid.

"Bad day... bad week," Ritsuko replied, her shoulders slumping visibly.

"Hey, I try not to think about the past too much. If I did, I'd probably say
something about a bad life."

Ritsuko sighed, pouring herself a second glass.

"I know the feeling."

"Are you angsting over your parents, or just generally depressed?"

"My mother... Naoko Akagi... she was a complex person." The Doctor chuckled,
taking a sip from her glass. "So complex, in fact, that she split her
personality into three parts and programmed it into the Magi before she
died.

"A woman, a scientist and a mother. I didn't really know her as a mother; I
hated her as a woman... but respected her as a scientist."

"I know what you mean, Ritsuko. My old man... I guess I respected him as a
martial artist, even though I always used to taunt him about his skill. But
he was a really lousy human being."

Both Ranma and Ritsuko remained silent for a long while afterwards, drinking
some more sake without saying a word.

Eventually, Ranma asked, "Did you love her?"

"My mother? I... I would like to say no; to say that I couldn't care less
whether she lived or not...

"But I can't."

"Do you miss her?"

"Every single day."

Gulping down the remained of the sake, Ranma put his now empty glass back on
the table.

"So do I. With my old man, I mean. He wasn't the easiest person to get along
with, but he raised me."

"What about your mother?" Ritsuko asked the pigtailed boy all of a sudden.
She remembered him mentioning her earlier, so she had to have a certain
influence, however little, on his life at some point.

"What about your father?" Ranma asked sourly.

That quickly shut her up. Some things are best left alone in the shadows,
where they belong.

"I think we should go to sleep," she said instead with a yawn. "I have to
get up early for work, and you... are already asleep," she finished lamely,
glancing at the snoring boy.

Wondering briefly if falling asleep while sitting had been one of the traits
Ranma learned on that training trip of his he had brought up earlier,
Ritsuko walked over to him, swaying slightly and using the table to right
herself. She dragged him over to his futon and covered him with a blanket,
just before her eyes closed and she passed out next to him.

--------------------------------------------------

"Oww, my head..."

Ritsuko and Ranma looked at each other through their half-lidded eyes,
before sighing synchronously.

"I'll never drink again," Ritsuko mumbled in disgust.

Ranma chuckled despite himself, wincing as his head shook as a result.
"Never say never."

"I suppose you're right." Groaning, Ritsuko walked over to the kitchen and
took out a carton of milk.

"That won't help you, you know?" Ranma commented lazily, leaning on the
doorframe. "I should know, with my old man's favor of booze an' all."

Ritsuko smiled, taking a long sip from the carton. Turning towards Ranma,
she said with a smile, "I'm pretty sure it worked with Misato back in
college."

Ranma shrugged. "To each, their own, I guess."

"Want some?" Ritsuko asked him, offering the carton.

Squinting at it, Ranma thought for a moment before shaking his head to the
negative, looking down at his feet, idly wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Oh, I see. You're one of those masochist types."

Ritsuko wasn't expecting Ranma to react to her words, and hence was taken by
surprise with his quiet reply.

"It's a reminder."

"A reminder? Of what happens when you drink?"

"Of getting drunk... of losing control." Ranma raised his head and locked
eyes with Ritsuko. "You know what I'm capable of. I can't afford to lose
control for a single moment..."

The pigtailed boy closed his eyes, letting his head drop once again. "But
when this happens, I want to remember each and every time."

Ritsuko nodded silently in comprehension. She might not have always agreed
with the way he acted, but the boy's motives seemed to be pure and...

"Ranma... when I get back from work today, there is something very important
I want to ask you."

"I'll be here."

--------------------------------------------------

"Ranma, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Yes, for work... right? Right?"

Shaken by the urgency in Ranma's voice, Ritsuko put her hands on his
shoulder to calm the boy down somewhat.

"No, Ranma. The Commander sent me on an important mission..."

"I... understand," Ranma said quietly. "I'll go back to live on the
streets..."

"Come with me, Ranma. Come with me to Antarctica."

Shocked speechless, the pigtailed boy stared wide-eyed at his conversant.
"You... want me..."

"Join my expedition, Ranma. I know I can't offer you much, but..."

"Your friendship alone would be worth the trip," Ranma mumbled quietly,
lowering his head.

A few tears made their way down his cheeks. Ritsuko wisely chose not to
comment on them, to avoid offending his sense of masculinity.

"When do we leave?" Ranma asked suddenly, startling the scientist.

Ritsuko smiled warmly at her young guest, mentally calculating the time it
would take them to get to the ship and make all the necessary arrangements.

"Tomorrow, six-thirty a.m., sharp." Curling the tips of her mouth, she
teased, "Think you can handle that?"

Ranma snorted in disdain.

"That's nothing! Me an' Pop... we'd get up at dawn to spar!"

Ritsuko smiled one last time and turned to leave , when she felt a hand land
on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Ranma give her a look full of
gratitude.

"Thanks, Ritsuko."

Having said that, Ranma squeezed her shoulder lightly and left the
apartment, not once looking back. For a moment, fear grasped her heart; fear
that Ranma had walked out of her life forever. However, a moment's thought
calmed her down. Ranma knew that he was leaving for a long time, and
probably wanted to part with a few of his favorite places in Tokyo-3.

That line of thought served to remind the Doctor of all the troubles that
befell the pigtailed boy, and she vowed that he would get a chance at normal
life. She would give him that, even if it would be the last thing she ever
did.

--------------------------------------------------

"Ranma, there's something that has been bothering me ever since we left port
yesterday..."

The boy glanced in her direction briefly, before returning his gaze to the
horizon. "Shoot."

"Why didn't you show up in your female form? You could have kept your cover
that way, not to mention get a paycheck."

Ranma was quiet for a few long moments. Ritsuko was about to repeat the
question, when he spoke softly, "Ranko Saotome is dead."

Blinking in surprise, Ritsuko asked," But aren't you...?"

"Ranko Saotome was a bad, selfish person," Ranma continued in the same tone
of voice, ignoring the question. "She was mean to everyone around her and
only hurt people... hurt her friends. Such a bully should not be allowed to
exist."

"But by doing what you do now, aren't you in fact running away? Away from
the responsibility for your actions, away from the troubles you don't want
to handle?"

Ranma thought for a long moment, before replying carefully. "Ranko Saotome
never existed. She was a figment of my imagination, and never had a right to
live in the first place. You could say that it was a way to run away from my
real problems by creating an alternate identity to deal with them."

"That sounds pretty deep for you... from the time I've known you, that is.
Not that I don't think you're capable of reaching these conclus..."

Ranma cut Ritsuko off with a wave of his hand. "That's okay, I'm not
offended. The thing is, I've been thinking about this a lot recently."

"I see."

Silence reigned between the two for a few minutes. Both stared forward into
the horizon, as the ship steadily sailed towards the South Pole.

"Whatever you decide, Ranma, I'll be behind you one hundred percent,"
Ritsuko said eventually, not turning towards him.

He smiled softly, and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Thank you, Ritsuko."

--------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter 13.

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