[FF] The High Cost of Loving - Chapter Three "The Fight"

Hello all!

Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction
"The High Cost of Loving - Chapter Three"
"The Fight"
by Suds-kun (suds1964@tir.com)

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Ranma 1/2 characters are created by and copyright Rumiko Takahashi.
Published by Shogakukan Inc. and VIZ Comm.
Used without permission.
Intended for the sole non-profit use of fans.
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I remember, my love, when you held me in your arms.
I felt as if we were the only ones in the world.
We talked of life and the love that we shared.
There was nothing that would dare to separate us.

Tonight, my love, I hold you in my arms.
In sorrow I hear the crashing of the walls of our world.
I can only dream of the life and love we might have shared.
I begin to see a wall, a wall that would forever separate us.

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"Where am I now!" Ryouga shouted to himself. "How can I get lost in
Akane's room?"

The little pig looked around in the blackness and could make out some
shapes. The first thing he noticed were some shoes. "These are
Akane's jogging shoes." He thought. "What are they doing here?" He
looked up and to his side. "I must be in some cave, how could I have
left her room and not known it?"

At that thought he heard some noises. "That sounds like voices, but I
can't make out any words. In fact it sounds like someone saying one 
word at a time." Ryouga looked in the direction of the voices and saw a
light in the distance. Carefully he made his way towards the source
of the light. Occasionally he would look away, trying to understand
what the voices he heard were saying. Eventually he came to a wall
with a crack in it. He looked through the crack and saw Akane's
bedroom. With a little effort, he scratched at the crack and widened
it. He squeezed through the opening and turned around.

"Her closet? I was in her closet?" The little pig sat down in
disbelief. He turned his attention to the sound of the voices he had
been hearing. His eyes lit up as he recognized the voice.

"Akane!"

The little black pig ran and jumped onto the bed.

===

"Nani?"

Ranma turned his head to see what had just landed on his back. In 
an instant he recognized the little hoofs digging into his shoulder.

"P-chan!"

Ranma turned his attention back to Akane. How could he get rid of the pig 
without getting Akane mad? Before he could react, the choice was made 
for him as he felt the little black pig bite his shoulder.

"Oww!"

With an involuntary twist of his body, Ranma sent the pig flying through 
the air. Straight for the tray of tea. The world seemed to slow down as he 
couldn't take his eyes off of the flying pig. He heard Akane call the pigs 
name as he knew she was watching the pig head for the tray of tea. The 
tray with the empty pitcher of lemonade and the full pitcher of hot water to 
make tea.

With a bwee the pig landed on the edge of the tray, tipping the pitchers 
onto him. Instantly a naked Ryouga stood in front of Akane and Ranma.

"R.. Ryouga?"

Ranma ignored Akane's reaction. He had warned Ryouga to stay away, or 
else.

"I told you to stay away, Ryouga." Ranma climbed out of the bed and 
slipped on his boxers. "If I saw your woman beating face again, I'd kill 
you." 

He noticed that Ryouga was trying to cover himself and was stuttering 
Akane's name. This was going to be the last time pig-boy ever tried to 
sneak into Akane's bed. With a shout he punched Ryouga in the face, 
sending him flying through the bedroom door.

"Prepare to die, pig-boy!"

Ranma rushed the door and began to chase the still dazed Ryouga down 
the stairs. His anger intensified as he watched Ryouga grab a surprised 
Kasumi and tear off her apron.

"Leave her alone!" 

He jumped to the falling Kasumi and steadied her. Ranma hesitated and 
looked her in the eyes.

"Oneechan, go help Akane."

Before she could respond, Ranma ran towards the broken front door. He 
looked around and saw a figure running down the street. With a low growl 
he set off after his quarry.

===

"P-chan!"

Akane smiled as she saw the look of shock on the face of the pig standing 
on the back of Ranma. It had been a month since she last saw her pet pig 
and he always seemed to appear out of nowhere. He must be surprised to 
find Ranma instead of me.

She winced as she saw the pig bite Ranma on the shoulder and then smiled 
at the idea that P-chan was trying to protect her. Her smile disappeared as 
Ranma snapped his back in response to the painful bite and sent her pet 
flying through the air.

"P-chan!"

Her shout was all she could do, there was no way she could 
catch him before he hit the tray of tea. As she watched, time began to 
slow. Her pet was squealing and had a terrified look, as if it was afraid of 
the tea. The pitcher of hot water for tea was knocked slightly in the air and 
tipped over. Its contents spilled on P-chan and she gasped at what she saw. 
Standing naked in front of her was Ryouga! She looked at the floor for her 
pet, but couldn't see any sign of him. Her gaze moved up Ryouga to his 
face. His face was white with fear. Then she noticed the bandanna.

"P-chan?"

Ranma was now standing beside the bed and talking, she could barely hear 
what he was saying. Mechanically she pulled the sheets up to her chest and 
sat up in bed. "Ryouga?" Before he could respond to her question, he flew 
through the door from a punch by Ranma.

"No!"

Ryouga was P-chan! He had slept in her bed. He had listened to her most 
private thoughts and feelings. He� he� the bastard! He used me!

Akane looked up and saw her sister standing in the door way. Her 
normally cool demeanor replaced by that of shock.  Nabiki's features 
returned to normal as she entered the room.

"Akane, what's going on? I just saw Ranma chasing a naked Ryouga down 
the stairs."

"Ryouga is P-chan! The� The pervert used me! He's been sneaking into 
my bed!"

Nabiki looked around the room then crossed her arms gave a sly look. 
"Hey, sis. What really happened?" Nabiki nodded at the clothes on the 
floor.

Akane blushed and pulled the sheets closer to her. "Uh� ummm."

Kasumi ran into the room, her face was flushed and she was rubbing her 
neck. "Are you O.K., Akane? He didn't attack you, too?"

"No, he attacked Ran... TOO? Ryouga attacked you, oneechan?"

Ryouga attacking Kasumi was the most unthinkable thing in the world, but 
she was rubbing a red mark on her neck.

"He ran up to me, grabbed my arm and then tore my apron off. He then ran 
out the door with Ranma right behind him. Ryouga looked scared and 
Ranma looked really upset." Kasumi looked at Akane, then at the pile of 
clothes on the floor and then back at Akane. "What's going on, Akane?"

Akane blushed again. "Uh� ummm."

"Are you O.K., Akane-chan? 

Nodoka entered the room as she straightened her yukata. Genma was 
standing outside the door, adjusting his yukata.

===

Ryouga tied the apron more securely around his waist as he ran.

She knows! She knows! I can never return, she hates me now. He looked 
over his shoulder and saw Ranma chasing him. It's his fault. Ranma has 
always ruined my happiness. He's responsible for my curse and now he's 
taken both Akane and Akari from me.

Ryouga bowed his head as he ran. Because of this, he didn't see the two 
walls and one house that he ran through.

How could he see throw me into that tea? I was just going to jump onto 
the bed. Why did he � wait. What was he doing on Akane's bed? What 
was he doing _in_ Akane's bed? As he tried to piece together what 
happened, his pace slowed down.

He� he was in bed with Akane. The were� were� NO!

Ryouga stopped running and turned toward the approaching Ranma.

He's taken Akari from me. He's taken Akane's honor and innocence. He's 
destroyed my life and now he's going to pay!

Ryouga stared at Ranma and waited until he drew close.

"Ranma, prepare to die! Shi Shi Houkoudan!"

The depression blast hurtled in Ranma's direction and impacted on a 
nearby building. Ryouga tried to look through the cloud of dust from the 
collapsing wall. Where's Ranma? In response a foot connected with his 
jaw and then he felt a number of blows to his face and stomach.  He lashed 
out with one of his bandannas, breaking off the attack. He felt his face and 
noticed he was bleeding.

"I've had it with you, pig-boy. I'm going to make you pay for hurting my 
mother. Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Ryouga moved backwards, not by stumbling back, but carried by the force 
of the blows.  He had felt the chestnut technique many times, but never 
like this. With a grunt of determination , he blocked with his arm as he 
sent a kick to Ranma's mid-section.  Ranma twisted and regained his 
balance.

"What have you done to Akane? Where is your honor?"

"Keep away from her, Ryouga! I asked her to marry me and she said 'yes.' 
So, keep away from her, 'P-chan!'"

Ryouga stared at him in disbelief. Anger grew inside him. Anger at Ranma 
for taking Akane's innocence. For taking Akane away from him. For 
taking Akari away from him. A low growl formed in his throat and grew in 
volume.

"Rannmmaaa!"

In a blind rage he charged at Ranma, ignoring the blows and all else. When 
he reached his target, he grabbed him and continued through the wall of a 
nearby building. They came to a stop as Ranma flipped Ryouga to the side. 
As he regained his footing, Ryouga could see Ranma standing. Standing 
and taunting him. It didn't matter what he was saying, Ranma always 
taunted and tortured him. Through the red haze of his anger he stared at 
his foe, his tormentor, his nemesis. Again he lowered his head and charged 
with a low growl. If not for his blinding rage, he would have seen Ranma's 
fist glowing blue.

The world went white with pain. Slowly the his eyes started to focus. He 
could see the ground before him and he could hear someone groaning. The 
groaning grew louder and sounded like someone or something in pain. The 
shaking of his hands caught his attention as they moved toward his face. 
The moment they touched his face, pain and understanding brought him 
back to reality. He was the one groaning in pain. Pain from a broken jaw.

"Did I get your attention?" Barked Ranma. "Good! I learned that little 
technique from Akane. She showed me how to focus my ki and make my 
hand harder than a rock. What? I can't hear you, speak up! Hmm? Can't 
talk? Aww, did I break your jaw? At least _now_ I don't have to hear you 
whining and complaining anymore."

Ryouga focused on his anger and blocked out the pain as he again rushed 
at Ranma.

===

Miwako smiled broadly to herself. The day was just perfect. She was now 
a reporter for the Asahi Newspaper. Tomorrow she was going to find out 
what her first assignment would be. Tonight, however, was a time to 
celebrate! Takeshi had insisted on restaurant shopping. He said that they 
should celebrate in as many places as possible. This was their third stop, 
the last was an okonomiyaki restaurant across the road.

The restaurant was simple and specialized in teriyaki. Each table had a 
small bowl candle that gave off a soft light, quite romantic. She looked up 
at Takeshi and wondered if he was ever going to propose. They had known 
each other since high school and had even went through juken together.

Before they could place their order, she felt the building shake. All 
attention was turned toward a large hole in the far wall. She could see two 
men stand up from the rubble. One was hurt, while the other was talking 
and pointing at him. She had heard in college about Nerima's reputation 
for martial artists fighting in public. It was very interesting to actually be 
able to see such an event. A tug on her arm got her attention. Takeshi 
wanted her to leave with him.

"I want to stay, Takeshi. This is a great opportunity to perfect my 
journalism. This is like one of my college classes where I had to report on 
a wrestling match."

"O.K. Miwako. When it gets dangerous, we're leaving." Responded a 
nervous Takeshi.

She turned her attention back to the two combatants. Without looking, she 
removed her notepad from her purse and began taking notes. The man with 
a yellow bandanna was quiet and didn't speak as he threw the man with a 
ponytail through a wall. He just threw that guy through a wall. She was 
even more surprised when the ponytailed man stood up and continued 
fighting. Her surprise grew again as the cook tossed a bucket of water on 
the two combatants. They changed! The ponytailed man turned into a girl 
and the bandanna man was now a pig! A pig with the same bandanna 
around it's neck, sitting in a pile of clothes. The ponytailed man, now girl, 
shouted at the pig. Miwako gasped. Did she hear him correctly? He, she, 
threatened to turn him into pork chops! She, uhm, he, was going to kill the 
other man, pig.

It was at this time when she noticed the smell. The smell of gas.

"Gas!" She shouted and grabbed Takeshi by the arm and ran for the door. 
They stopped in the street where a group of people had gathered. "There's 
a gas leak! Get away as far as possible!" She looked back as she saw the 
cook run out the door. Inside she could see a ponytailed figure starting to 
glow.

===

"There's a fight in the Teriyaki restaurant! Its Hibiki and Saotome again!"

Ukyou sighed as she watched her customers leave to see the fight. She 
could see through the window that a crowd was forming. Then she 
recognized the Tendous and the Saotomes. Her curiosity got the better of 
her and she left her restaurant to join the crowd.

"What's the fight about, Akane?" She asked as she stood next to her.

"Ryouga is P-chan." Akane replied in a flat tone.

"Nani? Ryouga is P-chan?" Ukyou looked toward the restaurant and the 
two combatants inside. "I think Ranma is going to kill him."

"If he doesn't, I will."

Ukyou looked at Akane and could tell that she was very upset. But 
something wasn't right. Kasumi and Nabiki kept glancing at Akane. 
Kasumi looked a little worried while Nabiki had on a mischievous grin.

"There's a gas leak! Get away as far as possible!"

Ukyou turned toward the shout in time to see Ranma begin to glow.

The explosion knocked everyone down as the windows in all of the stores 
shattered. She looked up in time to see onna-Ranma land in front of her. 
Before she could react, Akane was by her side. Numbly she stood and 
walked toward her fiancee. Her clothes were smoldering and she looked 
hurt, badly hurt.

Akane had lain onna-Ranma's head in her lap and taken her hand in hers. 
Tears were running down her face as she leaned over and touched her face. 
Ukyou felt a knot form in her stomach as she saw Akane hesitate and then 
start to sob.

"Nooooooooo!" She cried as she rocked back and forth with him in her 
lap.

Ukyou's world went black as Akane's scream of grief echoed in her ears.

===

Akari looked down the street and sighed. She had been searching for her 
Ryouga-sama for a month and has not seen him anywhere. Maybe it was 
time to check with the Tendous again. Ryouga-sama always seemed to be 
visiting there when she had looked for him in the past.

The sound of a nearby explosion caught her attention. As she turned 
toward the noise, a flying object hit her in the chest and knocked her 
down. As she sat up the object fell into her lap. With a gasp she 
recognized what hit her.

"Ryouga-sama!"

Akari hesitated as she noticed that her love was not moving. She had never 
seen injuries like this in all of the years she helped train the sumo pigs. 
Carefully her fingers moved over the small legs, across the chest and down 
the back. A tightness grew in her chest as she stopped her check Her 
shoulders slumped forward as she looked down at the most important 
person in her life.

"Nooooooooo!" She cried as she rocked back and forth with him in her 
lap.

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Yayy! It's done! C&C is most welcome.

What do you think of the poem? Who is it about? 

Thanks to all who have commented on THCOL and have given me their 
support! The next chapter _will_ be the new version of "The Visit." 
Thanks to Hitomi for the info on concerning the Japanese legal system. 
This resulted in a big rewrite of chap four, which wraps up the 'heavy' 
atmosphere of the series. Chap five & six are more upbeat.

One word of warning, be very careful when installing new drives for your 
diamond video card. You might lose half of you win95 drives. Trust me, 
it's not pretty. @_@

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--
suds-kun (Shaun Schillinger)
suds1964@tir.com
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/8222/
"THIS time, we didn't forget the graaavy!" Cat & Mouse to Dog