Once again, this is your last chance before I send this one to the
RAAC. C&C now or forever hold your piece. NOT a dark fic, just deals
with a serious subject. PLEASE give it a shot!

Misery's End Part Two	

		"Suicide Blast" 

	Ryouga let the wind blow coolly across his face. His mind had been in
such turmoil lately that when he had finally come to a decision,
everything seemed to come together. He knew it wasn't a good decision
and he knew it wasn't fair, but his life had neither been good nor fair
so it all seemed to make sense.
	
	With all the calm casualness of a man who had finally come to terms on
his own fate, he thought back to the phone call. The phone call that had
congealed all his fears and destroyed what little hope he had been able
to store. It also had set him free.

...oooOOO(  )(  )(  )

	"Yo Ryouga, I see you finally got to Akari. Only took you a month too,
not bad...Ow, hey you quit it, I'm being nice, geez Akane." Ranma's
voice had ended a month long stupor for Ryouga. He had been beyond care
ever since the whole wedding fiasco. 

	Maybe the others hadn't been able to see it, but he was used to
searching Akane's face. Spotting emotions and trying to help when he
could was the closest he was ever able to get to Akane. Seeing her with
that look of inner peace as Ranma told her his feelings had shattered
what was left of Ryouga's heart.

	"Listen, me and Akane are finally gonna get hitched and I...Aw man,
quit crying already Mr. Tendo, I can't make these kinda arrangements
with you blubbering every time we mention it...anyway we'd like you for
the best man. Heh, doesn't that just say it all. My best man and best
friend all rolled into a neat little 'Ranma, I'm gonna kill you'
package. What? Lay off would'ya, Akane? He's used to it by now."

	Ryouga just listened as Ranma and Akane yelled at each other over the
phone. Part of him noticed that their fighting had a playful edge to it
that had been absent before. Most of him, though, just wanted the whole
thing over. All of it.

	"So anyways, just stay where you are. Me and pop'll be by to pick you
up in a couple of days. We can go training and stuff" Ranma continued in
a whisper, "she's been cooking for days now and we just GOTTA get some
real food...hmmmmmm? Oh nothing Akane. Look I gotta go, she's yelling
again and  waving a deadly weapon around, a western omelet no less,
brrrrrr. See ya."

	He had placed the receiver down, a little surprised he hadn't crushed
it. It just didn't hurt as much as he thought it would, his decision
giving him comfort already. Was that when he had decided? Or had it been
when he first saw the peace on Akane's face? A figure hugging him
tightly stopped his question short.

	"Who was it Ryouga-sama?" Akari asked sweetly.
	
	Ryouga looked at her with new eyes. He tried to conjure up the love he
had for Akane and compare that to his love for Akari. Somehow, it just
wasn't the same. His love for her was a love of convenience. She knew
his secret and still cared for him. 

	It was just like when Ranma had dressed up as his "fiancee". Ryouga had
been willing to let Akane go just for the selfish need of someone he
could have as his own. Someone with whom he wouldn't have any fears of
rejection. Akari's love was a bit selfish too, here was a boyfriend and
a pig all in one, a dream come true for someone like her. Still, he knew
what she did out of innocence, he did out of fear. True love could not
and would not be based on other emotions like that. Sooner or later, it
would drown itself in the original emotions, leaving those like himself
and Akari miserable.

	He had calmly pushed her away and excused himself, saying he needed
fresh air.

...oooOOO(  )(  )(  )

	Looking up into the stars, Ryouga wondered at how it was all going to
fell like. Painful of course, but after that...sweet and total peace.
How to do it though?

	The methods open were many and varied and with his skill as a martial
artist, he had even a few options unimagined by most people. Still, he
was being selfish enough as it was. There was no need in making Akane or
Ranma feel guilt as well. Maybe he could just fall off a mountain,
they'd never know what happened to him then. If they ever did find him
it would just be some tragic accident, a fitting end to a tragic life.
How hard would he have to throw himself to make sure it was fatal?

	Ryouga laughed at himself. All his training, what he had put his very
life into, had made his life a very hard thing to end. Ironic that the
one thing that had gotten him through his personal hells to begin with,
before he met Akane, was also prolonging the agony of his existence.
He'd just have to use those strong hands of his. While looking down at
his palms, Ryouga caught sight of a small blue ball of chi that had
formed in his hand. 

	Strange, he hadn't called upon the Shi Shi Hakoden and he didn't even
feel that bad. Actually, his decision had brought him peace. Why had he
summoned a physical representation of his pain?

	Still, the ball of light was small. He'd simply fire it off and
continue with his thoughts. A strange little idea formed in his head and
he aimed the sphere at Akari's pens. That would be one way for him to
leave her without making her cry, flash fry one of her prized piglets.
Better to feel angry then betrayed, that was one thing he knew a lot
about. Of course, a ball of chi this small wouldn't even make it to the
pens before fizzling out.

	He let the force go, straight at a cute little piggy who had peeked up
over the fence.  

	The sphere hurtled from his hands with more force then any Ryouga had
ever been able to summon before. As it streaked through the air, the
pressure of its passage tore an incredibly deep gash into the ground.
The pig had just enough time to duck out of the way as the energy
slammed into the pens with twice the force of his normal blasts. 

	Ryouga just stared, then he grabbed at his chest. Squeals of pain
erupted from the pig pens as he tried desperately to get up. Akari,
having heard the commotion, not to mention having a part of her house
blown apart by the aftershock, came stumbling out.  Just what the hell
was going on? 

	She gagged slightly at the smell of cooking meat and stared in horror
as her beloved pets writhed in pain. Who could have done this? A moaning
sound seemed to answer her question as she turned to see her beloved
stumbling towards her, his hand on his chest.

	"Ryouga-sama, are...are you okay?" Her mind raced between concern for
her two greatest loves. She ran to Ryouga, feeling a bit guilty that he
had won the battle for her concern by such a pathetic margin.

	His head cradled in Akari's lap, he tried to focus his thoughts. He had
felt his heart tighten! Years of training his body far beyond the normal
levels of human endurance had given him a great sense of his own
physical health. Armed with this knowledge, he realized that the blast
had torn into his life force. 

	Akari looked down at Ryouga in shock and concern as he started to laugh
uncontrollably. Even with the weak light of the stars she could see that
he looked horrible. His eyes had grown darker and his skin was much 
more pale. 

	He had perfected it! Now, of all times, he had perfected the Depression
Blast. Of course this was the only way he could have perfected it. The
Shi Shi Hakodan was a force of pure pain and inescapable misery. The
final use of it was the end of all pain. A technique designed to end the
suffering of those who used it. To perfect it meant to cause it to tear
away your very life force, to go out with a bang as it were.  

	It was perfect. He'd fight Ranma one last time, and he would win. Then
he could fall into death's sweet embrace. No one would know why, Ranma
might feel a bit guilty but he had Akane after all. He deserved a little
punishment.

	"Ryoug-sama? Who did this?" Akari voice was trembling and she looked
pleadingly into his eyes. Ryouga sighed, one last thing to do before I
go.

	"I did, Akari, I--I'm sorry." He braced himself for her anger but she
just stared at him, begging with her eyes that he tell her that he was
lying.

	Ryouga bent down and gently kissed Akari on the forehead. "Tell Ranma
when he gets here that I'm coming for him. Not for Akane, just him."

	"You're leaving me?" she whispered. Ryouga simply nodded with a cold
expression on his face. She slapped him, very hard. Then she ran back to
her house, tears welling up and stinging her face like nothing before. 

	Ryouga felt his cheek and bowed as far to the ground as he could "Gomen
Nasii." He was leaving everyone, he knew he really couldn't ask for
forgiveness from that.

...oooOOO(  )(  )(  )

	"He said what?" Ranma asked a weak-eyed Akari. "Man, I thought we were
past all that."

	Sighing, Ranma turned to go, mumbling something about stupid pig headed
people. Akari caught him by his sleeve. "Ranma, this time it's
different, you didn't see him. I think he's gone over the edge."

 	"Aw, don't worry about it. We do this kinda stuff all the time. I'll
bring him back to ya, just you wait and see." Ranma smiled down at the
girl, then his face changed from confidence to concern as he noticed her
lower lip was trembling.

 	"No, he's not welcome here. We're through Ranma. I don't want to see
him...ever again." She finished the last statement in a hoarse whisper
and shut her door.

	Ranma shook his head, why'd Ryouga have to make everything so
difficult. He walked over to his pop, who was in Panda form. Ever since
Akane had started cooking again, he had newfound admiration for the
subtle sweetness of bamboo. Now, he was staring at the destruction
Ranma's friend had left behind. <Look at this, boy> read his sign.

	Whistling appreciatively, Ranma surveyed the devastation. No doubt
about it, this was definitely a Shi Shi Hokodan blast site. The only
thing was, he'd never seen this much destruction from what looked to be
a single shot. Ryouga must have been almost out of his mind with
depression to do something like this.

	<Are you sure you're up to this?> read the Panda's new sign. Ranma
thought about this, this kind of destruction was on a Herb or Tarou
scale, could he really get that serious and not hurt Ryouga?

	But all he said was "Sure thing Pop, I can handle Ryouga no problem."

	Ranma would find a way to calm him down, even if he had to beat the
hell out of him to do it!

End Part Two

To be continued of course....

Ending song... If you don't know the tune, it's the "M.A.S.H." Theme
song...

	The game of life is hard to play, 
	I'm gonna lose it anyway,
	My final card, I'll some day lay,
	And that's all I have to saaaaaaaayyy....

	Suicide is painless,
	It brings so many changes
	And I can take or leave it if I please,

Paraphrased Neitzche (I think) "the thought of suicide is a great
comfort, it has kept many a man company through many a hard time!"