"I never wanted this� I don't want to hurt anyone�" over and over. Soon 
enough, her body returned to its normal size and all the abnormalities 
vanished. 

 Ranma simply stood there. Wondering just what he could say. Nothing 
could, nor would come. The scenery around them changed back into 
Furinken at night. More time had passed then it seemed. 

 Akane and Nabiki looked at the unconscious Yuko and advanced slowly. 
Wondering if it was still safe to do so. All they saw was a partially 
empty soul, filled with self-loathing and anger. Quivering in the cold, 
drying tears streaming down her cheek, and breathing ragged from 
sobbing. 

	Seeing nothing more they could do, Ranma picked her up and with the 
help of the Tendou sisters, carried Yuko back to her home. Her parents 
were scared to death at what happened to her. They tried to explain what 
happened what happened to them, but they merely nodded at the poor 
excuse for a reproduction of the scenes they witnessed. 

	The next day, Ranma, Nabiki, and Akane went over to her house at a 
request from her parents� and from Yuko herself. 

	In her bed, Yuko looked so worn and tired as she tried to speak.

	"Minna� gomen nasai. Ever since it happened, my powers still come back 
and haunt me with nightmares. And no matter what I do, people get hurt," 
she shook her head, "if there was anything you could do for me� I'd ask 
you to end my life."

	All three gasped at the odd request.

	"Why? You still got everything here. You still have a chance to start 
over." Akane replied. Yuko slowly shook her head again.

	"No. I lost that chance a long time ago. And everything I have here 
doesn't mean a thing at all. Life seems so meaningless when it's because 
of you that others are suffering. You never see their faces. Never know 
their names. Never will. The reason is they they're dying and you can 
feel it happening as it happens. Men, women, and their children are 
being killed because of the chaos I caused. Every scream of anguish, cry 
of pain, prayer for the dying; I can hear them all."

	With his usual impulsiveness, Ranma stepped forward. "But, there has to 
be a way. I mean, there's gotta be something we can do."

	Like with Akane's response, all the tormented girl did was shake her 
head. "Ranma� you got to understand that�. There are some things you 
can't do anything about. And it's better this way. The less people I 
hurt, the better off."

	The three were left speechless as Yuko turned to the darkening sky 
outside.

	"I have a disease that I cannot get rid of. Until fate's jokes are done 
with me, I will continue to find a cure for my sickness. That plague 
that makes me continue to suffer. Called life."

	A month later, Yuko left Nerima. Leaving no sign of her life there, she 
took all the pain with her. Then, another month later. Another attack 
from the world of nightmares came. Only this time, Yuko didn't have the 
divine immortality as before. True, she was able to defeat the leader of 
the world of nightmares, but it was a mere piece of dribble compared to 
her greatest victory. 

	She was able to cure her disease. Injured beyond healing, she died with 
no hope of recovery. Yet, it was the happiest moment she ever had when 
at last her life ended. 

The End

[Warhammer comes out.]
	WH: Well, this is my first attempt at a dark fic. I don't expect any 
praise for it. But it would be nice. Anywho� the girl, Yuko Aso was from 
a series of Genesis and Turbografix -16 games called Valis. The story 
had TONS of potential to be full of angst, but fell short. So, someday I 
will rewrite the whole story. I may as well consider it the darkest 
story I've ever written. But that's for another day.

BTW, the lyrics from Yuko's notes are from Genesis' 'Dreaming While You 
Sleep'

	Before I go, everything and everyone belongs to their respective owner.

[Warhammer leaves.]



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