The Exiled

by K'thardin

Standard Takahashi disclaimer:
 All character's and their likeness'...awe come 
on.  With all the Ranma fanfic's out there, there 
really should be a standard disclaimer we could 
download from RAAC.  In any case It's just a story 
and not representative of the actual characters just 
our own personal representation of them.

 Any other characters or whatever used are 
properties of their respective owners; mine are of 
course my property.

For all you Ryogas out there:  May you one day find 
life is actually worth living

"Do not grieve.  Soon I shall be one with the 
Matrix."
  -Optimus Prime

Ryouga

Grief

    Ryouga was in Hell.  No, not the proverbial 
fire and brimstone hell or even the real hell (that 
being far worse than anything anyone would want to 
imagine).  It wasn't even the hell that Ranma had put 
him through.  That hell was absurd; laughable really, 
when compared to this hell.  No it was a hell far 
worse than any of those.  This hell was the hell of 
having your very soul ripped from you while you 
watched, knowing there was nothing you could do about 
it.
   He was walking that much he knew.  He really 
did not know or care where he was.  All he knew was 
he had to continue; had to keep going.  She would 
have wanted him to continue.
   Ryouga stopped walking for a moment and sighed 
sadly at that thought; a tear trickled down his 
cheek.  He tried to continue walking, but for some 
reason he couldn't gather the will to continue.  Soon 
that tear coming from his eye turned into a small 
flood of weeping as his thoughts inevitably returned 
to the past.  To what he had lost.
   It started to rain then which snapped him 
somewhat back to reality, and he looked around and 
took in his surroundings for perhaps the first time 
in...he couldn't remember.  The landscape was grassy 
and hilly and there was a town in the distance.  He 
thought maybe he should head for it, find an inn or 
something.  It was night and despite the clouds and 
rain he could see the two full moons in the sky.  The 
fact there were two was not lost on him, but he 
really couldn't bring himself to care.
   Grimly, he started again keeping the town in 
sight not really caring if his unconscious ability to 
be anywhere teleported him somewhere else before he 
got there.  The analytical part of his mind absently 
noted that he had not transformed yet.  A side effect 
of being in this hell, his powers had become so great 
that he could hardly contain them so an aura of blue-
green light could always be seen around him.  It 
vaporized any rain that came too close to him.  He 
could honestly give a shit less.  He would gladly 
stay a pig for eternity if it would bring back his 
beautiful, dark haired lady.  He sighed again and 
shook his head, sadly continuing on towards the town.
*
    The proprietor of the inn watched as a very 
strange being walked in through the door.  Aliens 
where not uncommon in these parts, but they were few 
enough so when one walked in through the door it was 
cause enough for some surprise.
    She watched as the being pulled back the hood 
of his cloak and removed something from his eyes 
(obviously some form of eye protection thought the 
owner).
    "What can I do for you?" she asked.
    It was the standard question asked by business 
owners all over the universe.  It served two 
purposes, first to actually see if there was a chance 
that the customer would buy something, and second to 
determine what language the customer spoke.  It was 
very rare when one came along that could not be 
understood, eventually, so the proprietor was not 
really worried overly much.
    "Got a room?" the stranger asked in an utterly 
dead voice.
    "Yeah we have a couple." It was apparently an 
unfounded worry for the stranger could speak the 
local dialect as if born to it
    "How much?" He asked.
    "Twenty gold a night.  Meals included."
Pretty cheap, thought Ryouga.
    "I'll take it."  He fished the appropriate 
amount of the local currency out of his pocket.
    "Upstairs last one on the left." said the owner 
as she proffered the keys to Ryouga.
    He accepted the keys to his room from the 
owner, and turned toward the stairs.  The owner had 
gotten a good look at the stranger's face during the 
exchange.  Envoy's, she thought, that man has some 
major demons tormenting him.
    "Hey wait a minute!" the owner called out.
    The stranger turned back toward the front desk.
    "Listen the there is still some stew left from 
the afternoon meal.  I could warm it up for you if 
you're hungry."
    Ryouga smiled a little sadly and nodded his 
head.
    "Thank you.  I'd like that."
   She smiled a little in return.
    "Follow me." she said and started toward 
another door.


    "That was very good.  I thank you." said Ryouga 
as he finished.
    "I am glad you think so.  Although I think you 
should thank my little sister the cook as well."
   He noticed her amused tone of voice and laughed 
a little, though there was really no humor in it.
    "I shall do so tomorrow then."
    It is in everything he does, every word he 
utters, such sadness.
    "So how long do you plan to stay here?"
    Ryouga thought for a moment.  I have been 
travelling for what seems forever.  I should probably 
stay in one place for awhile...if I can, he thought 
wryly.
    "A few days." he answered simply.
    "In that case may I ask your name stranger?"
    "Hibiki Ryouga.  Just call me Ryouga though, 
it's simpler."
    "My name is Girini Ver.  My sister is Girini 
Row.  You can call us Ver and Row though."
    "As you wish."
    She looked at him a little more intently, well 
curiosity unsatisfied drives one nuts although it 
does not end life like satisfied curiosity sometimes 
does.  Oh well may as well try to find out.  Perhaps 
I can even help him.
    "So what brings you to this part of the 
universe?"
    "I am not entirely sure." he said puzzled.
    Well at least it's not in that dead tone of 
voice he had awhile ago.
    "What do you mean?"
    "I am really not sure how I came to be on your 
world."
    Strange, she thought; but she had heard weirder 
stories.
    "So do you travel often?"
    He almost laughed then, Often? 
    Did I say some thing funny she thought; 
noticing his instant lightening of mood.
    Noticing her perplexed expression he 
elaborated.
    "I've been pretty much traveling all my life.  
So yeah, I guess you could say I travel often."
    Oh.
    Throughout this conversation Ryouga had been 
carefully studying his hostess.  She appeared to be 
about twenty earth years old (this only meaning she 
was full grown as these people lived approximately 
thirty earth years, but for some reason did not age 
after a certain point), she had green skin and even 
greener hair.  He also knew they had pointed ears 
(kind of like a Vulcan's) however hers was covered by 
her very long hair.  She had also been looking at him 
intently throughout the conversation with very gold 
colored eyes.  He found her to be quite beautiful.
    She must have finally noticed his scrutiny for 
her cheeks began to take on the grey-pink color that 
was their version of a blush.
    He almost laughed again.  It felt good to be 
able to laugh at something, he couldn't remember how 
long it had been since the last time it was that he 
had laughed.  He decided to try to alleviate some of 
her embarrassment.
    "So is it just you and your sister here?  Do 
you have anybody else around?"
    Her face took on a sad expression then.
   "No.  Everyone else in our family has been gone 
for quite sometime."
   The emptiness that had receded somewhat during this 
short conversation returned now in full force.
    "I'm sorry.  Please, forgive me for dredging up 
any unpleasant memories."
    She reached over and grabbed his hand.
    "Hey it's alright.  It was quite awhile ago."
    "But does the pain ever go away?" he asked 
quietly.
    So that's it.  That is what is torturing him.  
She looked up at him sympathetically.
    "No," she noticed that tears had formed at her 
eyes, "but I know they would have wanted to me to 
continue like I have.  They would have wanted that I 
find happiness.  And I have.  So I know that as they 
watch me, they are happy." the tears that had formed 
now trickled down her cheeks.
    He looked up at her and smiled.  It seemed to 
her it was probably the first time he had done so in 
quite sometime.
    "Thanks." he said simply.


    The dream was always the same.
    Akari and Ryouga had just emerged from Ukyou's 
Okonomiyaki after eating an incredible dinner there 
and begun walking down the street on their way to the 
outskirts of town where the view of the sunset would 
be the best.
    He looked down at her as she had made herself a 
permanent attachment to his arm and led the way 
there.  Not that he was complaining mind you; there 
was no way in hell he could have led them there.  Nor 
was he complaining about how close she was to him 
either, it was actually quite nice.
    "I love you." he said suddenly.
    Now where did that come from he wondered?  He 
could never say something like that to a girl before.  
Now he found that the words came easily to him.  
Especially because they were true.
    She stopped them suddenly and turned to look at 
him her beautiful eyes wide with what could it be?  
Shock? Surprise?  Maybe at first, but then they close 
into the most wondrous expression of happiness that 
he had ever seen.
   "Oh Ryouga, I love you too." she said loudly and 
threw herself onto him and kissed him very 
passionately.
    There were a couple of people around applauding 
him, but he paid them no mind.  His whole universe 
was this beautiful, loving woman in his arms now.  
She felt really good there too as she melted (well 
not literally, but damn near) in his embrace.
    After an eternity they broke apart and 
continued walking to their final destination.  It's 
funny, he thought as they continued.  I used to think 
I could only be happy with Akane, but now look at me.  
I suppose it's for the best, after all it's obvious 
whom Akane really loves.  He doesn't deserve her, but 
I know I have no chance, never did in fact.  Well as 
someone once said, far better than any dream girl is 
one warm, caring, and right before your very eyes.  I 
really do love you Akari, and you can't imagine how 
happy it makes me that you love me too.
    He hadn't realized he said the last out loud 
because in response she simply pulled herself as 
close to him as was possible and still keep walking.  
He idly wondered if he continued talking like that if 
she really would turn into some kind of putty.  
    "RANMA NO BAKA!" the shout and sharp sound of a 
mallet hitting a hard head startled him out of his 
blissful revere.
    "Sounds like Ranma has pissed off Akane again." 
Ryouga said in an amused tone of voice.
    Akari concealed a laugh with her hand.
    True to form Ranma's helpless body was thrown 
miles past the initial point of impact courtesy of 
Subspace Mallet Traveling Service.  He would have 
flown past the couple had Ryouga not taken some pity 
on him and stopped his helpless flight.  Of course 
the method he used left much to be desired as Ranma's 
outstretched form hung there in mid-air for a good 
five seconds until his face slowly slid off of 
Ryouga's outstretched fist, and he dropped to the 
pavement below.
    "What the hell didja do that for?" Ranma asked 
irritably as he picked himself up off the ground.
    "Well would you have rather continued to parts 
unknown then?" Ryouga asked with a grin.
    "Well you didn't have to use your fist to stop 
me!" he yelled.
    "Consider that your punishment for having 
angered Akane then."
   Ranma's face went utterly dark.
    "Ryouga," he began "I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD 
OFF!"
    Damn, normally I'm the one who reacts like 
this.
    "Sorry don't have the time."
    The sarcasm in Ryouga's voice only angered 
Ranma further.
    "I don't care!" and he proceeded to attack 
Ryouga.
    Ryouga for his part had jumped back Akari in 
his arms.
    Setting her down by a store he said, "Sounds 
like something him and Akane were arguing about 
really pissed him off.  Don't worry we'll fight, blow 
off some steam and continue in a little while."
    She said something quietly then; sounded to him 
almost like "Boys are such children."  Then she 
looked up at him at him wryly.
    "Try not to take too long, huh."
    He smiled back in reply.
    "C'mon get back here and fight like a man! Or 
are you too much of a pig to fight!"
    Ryouga smiled.  No, that will not make me angry 
anymore.  Ryouga jumped back towards Ranma and 
assumed a fighting stance.
    He more felt it than saw it.  A rapid surge of 
air and a feeling that something was not right and 
coming at them quickly.
    "LOOK OUT!" Ryouga yelled and tackled a 
surprised Ranma hurling them far to the other side of 
the road.
    The car came rushing out of nowhere barreling 
out of control towards where the two combatants had 
been about to do battle, but because Ryouga had 
thrown them to the other side of the road it passed 
them harmlessly.
    Ryouga turned his head and saw where the car 
was headed.
    "Akari get out of there!" he yelled.
    Akari was already in motion, but then time 
seemed to slow down for Ryouga as he watched her trip 
and fall on the sidewalk.  She tried to rise, but 
Ryouga saw the horror on her face as she realized a 
split second before the car hit her what was about to 
happen.
    "AAAKKKAAARRIIIII!" He yelled as he came awake.  
He put his hands over his eyes as the rest of the 
memory overtook him.
    He was running as fast as he could to where the 
car had rammed into the side of the shop with Akari 
trapped between them.  He reached the front of the 
vehicle, grabbed the front of the car, and pulled it 
off of her causing the black Saturn to flip on it's 
side and skid about twenty feet before flipping onto 
it's top.
    "Akari, no." he knelt beside her crushed form 
and grabbed her in disbelief.
    "No." he said again holding her bloodied form 
close to him as if the sheer power of his will would 
bring her back.
    The analytical part of his mind noted that 
Ranma was at the car trying to see if anyone was 
still alive inside.  He thought he heard him say 
there was no one in there.
    Ukyou, Shampoo, Mousse, and various others by 
this time had heard the crash and came rushing out to 
investigate.  Akane had finally caught up with Ranma 
and seen what had happened, and Ranma was now 
cradling her sobbing form.
He was still holding Akari's body when the paramedics 
and police arrived on the scene.  He was gently 
separated from her and slowly lead to the police car 
by Ukyou who accompanied him to the police station 
with Ranma and Akane to give a statement.
    He couldn't remember much of what happened next 
only that the police asked him a lot of questions 
that he guessed he answered to their satisfaction.  
He remembered Ukyou taking him back to her 
home/restaurant, cleaning him up and laying him down 
on her bed; telling him to sleep.  He could not and 
found himself being rocked back and forth in her arms 
as he cried for most of the night.  At times though 
it was a question of who was holding who as Ukyou 
vented her own grief at her friend's death.
    He couldn't take it anymore.  He jumped out of 
his bed...he had to get out...rushed down the 
stairs...he had to get out before...he pushed open a 
door he hoped would lead outside...before he...it 
did...he...
    "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" with that cry a blast of 
blue-green energy was sent toward the heavens, it 
exploded in mid air coloring the sky for miles in 
every direction and disrupting communications for 
about two of their hours.  This would baffle the 
scientists of this world for many years to come.  The 
explanation that became accepted in the scientific 
community was that it was some sort of Plasma storm.
    Ryouga dropped to his knees, his energy spent 
on the ultimate  Shi Shi Hakou Dan blast that was 
released in his despair.  After a time he felt the 
arms of his new friend pull him to his feet and lead 
him back to his room, where he collapsed in 
exhaustion and fell into a dreamless sleep.
    "Dear envoy's, let him find some solace." she 
prayed as she closed the door to his room.


    "I am lost again.  However I have been told 
this is the village of Erin on the planet Sarla 
spatial coordinates...", Ryouga tapped a button on 
the console and a set of letters and numbers appeared 
on the view screen within his monologue, "...though I 
have no idea where that is.  Yes, I know; I have been 
here before.  This village is a rather nice place to 
visit.  The mountains surrounding it are an 
incredible sight to behold and the people even more 
friendly than the rest of their world (if that is at 
all possible.  See section entitled Beliefs of 
Sarlan's by Hibiki Ryouga for further amplification).  
There are really no ultra modern conveniences here 
like replicators and some such.  They have even less 
the rest of their planet (again see above reference 
for reason).  Despite that I recommend it highly for 
the weary traveler who is tired of the constant hum 
of technology and desires to spend time around 
natural beauty.", he pause momentarily and tapped 
another button causing a box to appear over the 
message with a question that simply asked: send 
message?
    "Yes." he said, and the message disappeared. 
The box now read: message sent.
    There, another entry into the story of the 
universal lost boy, he thought sarcastically.  Well 
at least those guys up there at Hitchhiker's guide 
main head quarters pay me extremely well, as I have 
so many fans that follow my travels like an Otaku 
follows his favorite Anime.  He for some reason had 
impulse right then which he followed through with.
    "Computer show current balance of Hibiki 
Ryouga.  Account Bank of Interspatial Commerce.  
Match all necessary perameters necessary for proper 
identification."  His eyes widened at the figure 
displayed.
    "Whoa, didn't think I was doing quite that 
well."
   He tapped a few keys and five rolls of coins dropped 
out of a shute beside the computer console.  The 
number on the screen went down marginally.
    "Computer, end session."
He sat up out of his chair grabbing his backpack on 
the way up.  He walked out of the booth, actually 
hoping, for the first time in awhile, that he did not 
end up somewhere else.  After all, he had something 
else that needed done first.
   "'Bout time you got done." he looked down at 
the small figure who said that.
    "I wasn't in there all that long, Row." Ryouga 
said as-a-matter-of-factly.
    "Ha!  Says you!  You were in there a good ten 
minutes more than you said you would be.  We have got 
to get this stuff back to the inn in time for lunch."  
She said as she handed him two bags almost as large 
as she was.  "Still I gotta thank you for coming 
along.  I don't know how I could have gotten all this 
stuff back to the inn without help."
    "It's no problem." he smiled slightly, "After 
all what could a little waif of woman like you do 
with such a large load to carry."
    "Little waif, ha!  I could carry all that if I 
wanted to.  I just choose to let you help me." He 
nearly laughed out loud.  She couldn't even see the 
road, much less get it back to the inn if she were 
carrying all this.
    Contrary to her sister, Ver who was soft and 
gentle, Row was obnoxious and tough as old nails.  
Not to mention, much shorter which was something he 
had been needling her with as they walked into town 
for the spices she was running low of.  Of course she 
is the one who started this; calling me an unkempt 
vagabond with sorry taste in bandana's, he thought.  
The argument had started from that point on; even 
continuing on into town after Ver had asked that he 
help her (very) little sister get all the spices she 
had been running out of, but had been too busy of 
late to replenish.  Ryouga had agreed to help her as 
he had needed to use the town's subspace link in town 
anyway.  Still he found he was developing an 
affection for her akin to what he would have for a 
sister, had he had one.
    "Tell me; is it normal for your people to glow 
like that?" she asked suddenly.
    He shook his head.
    "No, only I do this."
    Sis warned me about his despair, she thought, 
but I didn't think it was this profound.  She watched 
as the aura around him gained a marginal intensity.  
Damn, wish I could cheer him up, but I'm no good at 
this, damn, damn, damn.  They continued on in silence 
until Ryouga stopped their travel about two 
businesses down from their inn.  She looked up and 
saw a look of concern and concentration on his face.
    "What is it?" she asked.
    "Is that your inn?" He pointed to a building.
   "Uh, yeah." Sis also told me about him saying 
he had a really bad sense of direction, but I at 
least thought he could recognize buildings.
    "Go to a neighbor's; call your law enforcement; 
tell them to get to your place quick."  He dropped 
the bags and took off running towards the inn.
    Shit! Shit! Shit!  If they have hurt her 
they're going to die!
    He ran up to and through the west wall where he 
had heard Ver's muffled scream.  He took in the 
entire scene all at once.  Two men (they weren't 
Sarlans, but they were humanoid) were leaning over 
her unconscious form; another one was quite obviously 
keeping watch for the rest over by the entrance to 
this storeroom.  He could see she had put up some 
struggle due to the condition the room was in, but 
they had stopped her struggles rather violently by 
knocking her into unconsciousness; as there was 
already a dark grey bruise appearing on one side of 
her face.  They had begun cutting her clothes off not 
really taking too much care about it as they had cut 
some of her skin as well.  They had not gotten too 
far with that as Ryouga had burst through the wall 
right then.
    "Make peace with your gods.  You're about to 
meet them."  Ryouga said in a voice that could freeze 
space.
    They quickly recovered from their shock and the 
one that had been keeping watch by the door withdrew 
his sword and leapt at Ryouga.  Ryouga let the sword 
come about two inches from his face before he reached 
up and tapped it with his left index finger causing 
it to shatter.  At the same time he grabbed the man's 
head with his right hand and made a sharp twist with 
his wrist, breaking his neck, and killing the man 
instantly.
    As Ryouga grabbed the first one's face one of 
the others jumped from where he had been kneeling and 
tried to stab Ryouga in the gut with a knife.  As 
Ryouga snapped the other's neck this one received a 
sidekick in the chest for his troubles.  The force of 
the kick shattered the man's ribs sending the pieces 
through various internal organs of his body.  It also 
propelled the man back through a nearby wall, pieces 
of the metal and wood wall impaling the man as he 
went through.  Needless to say he was very dead 
before he even hit the ground.
    Ryouga let the lifeless body drop to the floor and 
turned to face the final man, who had pulled the 
unconscious form of Ver up and had an energy 
discharge weapon of some sort pointed at her head.
    "I'll kill her man!  Step back, I'll kill her!" 
Ryouga smiled at the fear that was evident in this 
man...no this piece of shit's voice.
    "Put the weapon down.  Let the girl go." 
Ryouga's voice was that of death itself, and the man 
knew it.
    "FUCK YOU!" he shouted, now panicked beyond 
reason.
    Ryouga concentrated and a small stream of Ki 
was sent from his body, instantly burning a hole 
through the man's hand.
    "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" he screamed and dropped the 
gun.
    Ryouga covered the distance between them in a 
fraction of a second and in one smooth motion grabbed 
Ver with one hand and hit the man's face with an open 
palm strike with the other.  The man was thrown back 
blood flying everywhere as Ryouga slowly lowered Ver 
to the ground.
    The man got up and pulled his hand from his 
bloodied face.  He then withdrew a knife from his 
belt.
    "C'mon, you bastard!" he said and made inviting 
gestures toward Ryouga.
    Ryouga said nothing, but simply walked toward him, 
his face betraying no emotion.
     The man lunged at Ryouga trying to cut him 
lengthwise across his chest.  Ryouga simply stepped 
back a little and let the knife travel harmlessly 
through mid air.  As the man's arm nearly completed 
it's arc, Ryouga reached out; grabbing his hand and 
twisting his arm into a very painful position, 
causing him to drop the knife.  The man weakly tried 
to hit at Ryouga with the hand Ryouga had burned a 
hole through with his Ki.  Ryouga easily caught that 
hand as well and crushed it in his grip.  The man 
yelled out in pain, and he vaguely heard him cry and 
whimper for mercy.  Ryouga had none for people like 
this.  Ryouga reached out with the hand he had used 
to crush the man's hand and grabbed the man's face.
    "Please don't kill me." The man said weakly.
    Ryouga looked the man in the eyes and the man 
saw not a shred of pity or compassion in them.  
Ryouga had only one thing to say then.
    "Shi Shi Hakou Dan."  The man's head was 
vaporized in a blue-green flare of energy.

    Ryouga rushed over to Ver's side and checked 
her out quickly.  Other than a bruise on one side of 
her face and a few superficial cuts, she looked O.K.  
Row had rushed in shortly after the fight was over.
    "Sis!" she yelled and bent over the fallen form 
of her sister, "Is she..?"
     "She's fine." he said, "She'll need a doctor to 
check her out, but she's fine now."
    He watched Row breathe an audible sigh of 
relief.  Then she looked over at him concern written 
over her face.
    "Listen, our enforcers will be here real quick.  
You need to get out of here."
    "But..." he started.
    "She's right."  They both turned to look at Row 
who had regained consciousness "You need to leave.  
Our justice does not allow any ursurption of its 
authority.  They will have no mercy on you."
    He bowed his head a little then.
    "Very well.  Will you be alright?" he asked.
    She nodded her head.  He looked over toward Row 
then and fished in his pockets, pulling out four of 
the rolls of coins he had gotten that morning.
    "Here," he pushed the rolls into her hands, "This 
should be enough to repair any damages and take care 
of you in the mean time."
     He got up and began walking out the hole he had 
made in the inn's wall.
She looked down at the amount in her hands.
    "This...This is more than enough." she said in 
near disbelief, "My family will owe you for all time 
for what you have done today."
    He stopped then.
    "Then pay me back by finding yourselves some 
good husbands, raise a good family, and have a good 
life."  He looked back at her a sad smile on his 
face,  "I hope I will be able to come back one 
day and see it."
    They both smiled at him and watched as he 
walked out the hole in their wall and quite literally 
disappeared.


    Ryouga continued traveling for a time after he 
had exited Row and Ver's inn; not really knowing or 
caring where he went.  Finally after a few days he 
decided to look around, and he noticed some very 
familiar surroundings.
    "Figures I'd wind up here, now." he said to 
himself sarcastically.
    He looked around again and took in the surroundings 
of Akari's home.  The one where she grew up.  The one 
where her grandfather and parents lived and bred 
pigs, and taught her the art of breeding pigs.
    He sighed a little sadly.  Screw it, he 
thought.  
   He walked up to the front door of Akari's house 
and rang the doorbell.

End ch1.  Flames, C&C...anything of that nature?  I'm at Kthardin@geocities.com