Sarah: You know, i'm totally beat.

Eric: Soo at least you got to eat something from mcdonalds.

Sarah: mcpukeys i tell you... that stuff always sits
uncomfortably in my stomach.

Eric: Yes well... we're on the computer again... so maybe we
should review more fanfics

Sarah: Shouldn't you do something productive like write your own
story?

Eric: perhaps tonight *yawns* if i'm not too tired.

-----Original Message-----
From: K-chan <stroma@globalnet.co.uk>
To: fanfic@fanfic.com <fanfic@fanfic.com>
Date: Sunday, October 19, 1997 6:52 PM
Subject: [FFML] [FFML][Fanfic][R-1/2] It's so hard to say goodbye
to yesterday...(chapter 1-- part1)

IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY...

Sarah: its usually rougher when you havent slept the night
before.

By K-chan
k-chan@rocketmail.com
***Ranma 1/2 characters are copywrited to the ingenius of Rumiko

Takahashi

and co. - Viz, Kitty, Shogakakun and Fuji TV. I own nothing on

these

characters.***
~Be warned, this will be a sadfic but as for a bitter ending...?

I don't

know. ^_~

Eric: what no BITTER END?

Sarah: how disappointing, will it be a sweet ending then?

~I'm not the biggest fan of Kuno, like most people but I'm a

writer and he

has such great
dramatic potential that hasn't been as yet exploited as much as

some of the

other characters.~

Eric: hey who couldnt like Kuno?

Sarah: he's adorable.. he's cute and he has the most swelled head
in the world.

Eric: its hard to fit through doors.

~I'm taking this from the manga, so no Sasuke in this one.~

Sarah: good?

~I'd write about other manga/anime series but the kind I like

(romantic and

or/comedy) aren't easily available where I live (the manga's

hard to come by,

too. I haven't read a new one for months). I watch Oh My Goddess

but I can't

think of any stories for it. Enough of my sob story already! ; )

Eric and Sarah: *in tears* no please go on!

~I regard this as an experiment and am not sure how people will

react (if at

all) to it. Here goes.....~

Chapter 1: The Pleasures of Melancholy (part 1)

Eric: oh sure is this like that queen soon?

Sarah: Pain is so close to Pleasure?

Eric: yeah that one.

     Feeling pain is something few would enjoy experiencing

when injured.

Sarah: well ... duh.

But what about feeling no pain at all when a serious injury has

been

inflicted. Which is the better? ...And what do you do when the

wound is

Eric: isn't there a disease like that... leperosy or something of
that nature.

Sarah: perhaps.. i think i'd opt for the no pain.

not

of the body but of the heart?

Sarah: please do tell... perhaps Eric here can provide insightful
commentary.

Eric: Quiet You!

     One person in Nerima seemed to be suffering from this; his

name was

Tatewaki Kuno. At this moment, he was saying goodbye to his

sister, Kodachi

Sarah: bye bye birdie!

Eric: Please .. stop that.

Kuno, who lay still, eyes shut. In the next room, his father lay

Eric: do you get the feeling that Kuno finally snapped?

Sarah: perhaps.

unmoving

also.
     His dark eyes gazed down at her quiet, pale form. He took

her cold

hands and crossed them over her chest, inserting a black rose

between the

Eric: well isnt that sweet.

Sarah: brings a veritable tear to my eye

Dim: I think its unreasonable depressing.

hands. "You shall join our ancestors now in heaven with

Kami-sama and forever

Eric: I hate to YET again display my amazing ignorance but
something thats been eating my head for a few weeks now.... what
is Kami?

you will be known as the Black Rose. You won't be forgotten and

I'll meet

Sarah: who is he talking about again?

Eric: i forgot.

with you again, when my time comes. Till then, farewell, younger

sister."

Kuno whispered softly, his voice untainted by any emotion.

Taking one last

Eric: is that possible?  Kuno with no emotion?

look at his last link to the past, he put the white sheet back

over Kodachi

Sarah: he killed them all?  Ranma, Ryouga? Everyone?

Eric: what about Ukyou?!

and walked calmly to the door and back out to the hospital

corridor.

Eric: then again.

     The stark, white light made his face looked paler than it

was. A

peaceful, almost normal, look settled on his face; it was as if

the last few

hours had never happened.... As if there had been no fire....

Sarah: oh oh... fires...

Eric: humm.

    Memories of the night clashed jarringly. Somehow the

happier ones

Eric: each using swords and rapiers to get their POINT across.

Sarah: ...

dominated and the dark ones faded with time, giving in like a

nervous

Sarah: now thats unrealistic.

Eric: how so?

Sarah: its usually the bad ones that stick out in a persons mind.
This for sure proves that Kuno is whacked.

Eric: you are a bigger pessimist then me.

wallflower afraid of confrontation....
    Kuno kept his eyes wide open as he calmly strolled down the

corridor,

Sarah: are we sure we dont want them to narrow at any point?

thoughts streaming in a dignified fashion round his numbed mind.

Coming to

the reception desk, he noticed a vase filled with

darkly-coloured roses.

Eric: ahh well we also notice that there is one short of a dozen.

Sarah: so thats where the rose came from.

   The memories suddenly tumbled down an unexpected waterfall,

Sarah: .... nah.

intermingling. Sweet, aromatic flowers for Akane -The smell of

smoke -The

beautiful pig-tailed girl laughing - His sister screaming - A

gallant fight

against Saotome - Watching the paramedics try to resucsitate

Kodachi - Being

booted through the Tendo's roof - The sad look on the doctors

face -

Crash-landing in a neighbours garden - Saotome's spell on the

pig-tailed

goddess keep its grasp - The smell of smoke - Akane's beautiful

smile -

Sarah: this is a rush of memories... i wonder how his sister got
involved in the fight.

Eric: coincidentally i think its keeping its grasp.

The

darkly-coloured roses in the vase - The beautiful pig-tailed

girl laughing -

Akane's enchanting eyes -
   "Mr. Kuno? Mr. Kuno? Are you OK?" A gruff voice asked.

Sarah: sorry he's being buried by memories... come back in a few.

    Kuno blinked his eyes open and let out a breath he didn't

care to know

he'd been holding.

Eric: its okay really you wont holding it... someone else was
holding it for you.

    "Yes, Dr. Megasato. I'm perfectly fine." But my family is

not! A small

sting of anger almost penetrated Kuno's veneer but lost

eventually. Must not

Sarah: the score being Veneer 3 Anger 2.  A close match.

let the Kuno family name down. Must not. Kodachi and my father

are with

Kami-sama now, watching me. My mother is watching me. "Do I have

any papers

to sign? It's late and I still have yet to arrange the..." he

stood silent

for a moment; "...funeral arrangements."
    "Uh.. yes, you do, Mr. Kuno." The old doctor looked at Kuno

strangely

for a moment and then led him along, in and out of the darkness

of the partly

lighted corridor. The shadows accentuated the lack of emotion on

the

Kendoist's face; no lines, no brows, no tears, just a cold

impassiveness.

Eric: wow he's totally lost all his contours and facial features.

Sarah: lets dress him up and put him in a department store
window.

*************

     Signing medical and insurance forms as if he was a wearied

star signing

autographs, Kuno finally put down the black pen with a small

'tap'. The

Eric: ahh but Kuno is a star in his own right.

paperwork for the hospital was over with, just funeral

arrangements to make

now. He sighed deeply; too many forms to fill in for someone

with as

prestigious a family name as he, too many.
    Ink from the paper had stained his hands. This would not

do!

Sarah: quick! to the bathroom.

    "This will _not_ do! This is _not_ right!!!" The kendoist

slammed his

Sarah: Kuno Baby, its only ink.

Eric: it stains though.

Sarah: shh dont encourage him.

fist into the table and stood up with a start, his chair

clattering

backwards. The consultants stared back at him, almost cowering.

Kuno did not

Sarah: almost cowering?

Eric: yeah but not quite... sorta standing there looking ... half
afraid.

notice them, his shaking fist was gripped tightly and a snarl

scrunched up

his features. No-one moved for minutes.

Sarah: thats an awfully long time.  especially for people how are
only almost cowering.

Eric: you try standing still for more than a minute.

     He did not enjoy filling out forms, that had always been

his parents

business... had always been... his parents...

Eric: his father seems pretty whacked.

     "Look at the time, must be going." Kuno's face stiffened

back into it's

icy blankness -- clear yet numb -- and he strode towards the

door, his eyes

Sarah: how sad.  i hope he remembers to open the door.

opened so wide that they hurt, though he would never admit it.

Weakness was

for those who were unworthy of being warriors. That is what his

mother used

to say. It had been a long time since he had listened to

memories of her...

Sarah: ahh a step in the direction of listening to the little
voices in your head.

Eric: they tell secrets you know.

now he had no choice but to. After all, he had nothing else to

do since the

death of his only family.

Sarah: well you could continue your mad pursuit of the pigtailed
goddess.

Eric: or avenge their deaths.

     A teardrop glided down his face, the heat of it stung a

small scratch

on the side of his face.  The lights were obviously too bright

for his eyes

-- and therefore anyone elses. He would

Sarah: see he still has the swelled head.

talk to the
hospital manager about it tomorrow... for now sleep was all he

needed. It had

been a long, long night and he would need all his strength for

tomorrow.

Eric: and a Long and Winding Road.

    As he approached the exit to, the early morning quiet of

the hospital

was left behind for a more colder silence. All Kuno could hear

was the

Eric: for a colder silence.

smacking, echoing noise of his feet against the hard, smooth

surface of the

floor in the disenfectant-soaked hallways.

Sarah: fwap fwap...

     'Fwwwssshhhh..' the door opened before he reached it. A

slight breeze
>from outside skimmed across his face. He ignored it. Someone
approached him.

He ignored them. There were thoughts which demanded his

attention... until he

saw who it was. It was a surprise to see her here; he had not

expected her

presence.

Sarah: bets on who it is...

Eric: nabiki?

Sarah: hummm Akane!

     She stared at him, an alien expression of nervousness

crossing her

face. What could she say to someone who'd just lost their

family..? Even if

Sarah: either one they might have a clue what to say, after all
they did lose their mother.

it was the Kuno's. What was she even doing here? At the moment,

there were no

answers to any of those questions.

Eric: but tomorrow at the same Nabiki Time, on the Same Nabiki
Channel...

     "...Hi Kuno ...How are you?" She mentally berated herself

for such a

stupid question, how did she think an orphan of an two or three

hours was

Eric: how did she think an orphan of two to three hours was
doing?

doing? It wasn't like she cared. A lot. She was just here as a

classmate,

that's all. To keep a check on her best customer...

Sarah: Damn... i was wrong...

Eric: pay up.

     "Good morning, Nabiki Tendo. I'm perfectly fine."
*************
End of chapter, part 1:
So, a short first chapter but that's the way it goes! ^_^
Details of the fire are sketchy, I know, but more will be

revealed as the

story goes on.
Any type of C&C accepted happily. Encouragments encouraged!!

Flames flamed!!

Sarah: see he DOES love me!

Eric: Everyone loves you Sarah.

Sarah: it is awfully short and the little details are kinda
disturbing.  It makes me wonder what happened.

Eric: and exactly how long is it before Kuno snaps..

Sarah: K-tang!  *snaps her fingers for emphasis*  Either way it
was an interesting beginning.