This short story was in response to a challenge from a friend, what would
the last hour of an anime character's life be?
Enjoy! C&C always welcomed.
A Simple Love
--By Yuffie Kisaragi
10:57pm
"Oh my."
"What is it Kasumi?" asked Nabiki. She had never heard her sister sound so
scared. Instead of replying, Kasumi dropped to her knees, her mouth open,
silent.
"Ladies and gentleman," said the tv announcer, "please remain calm. We have
received the final word from UN officials. There has been an accident. At
exactly midnight tonight, there will be a brilliant flash of light. Then
there will be no more."
"WHAT?!?" cried Ranma, who had just walked in from the dojo with his
father. "What does that mean?"
"It means, my dear Ranma, that the world will end in precisely 63 minutes."
Soun began to wail. Kasumi gathered herself and went to the kitchen to
prepare an end of the world meal for the crowd she knew would gather at the
Tendo house. Genma looked panicked, perhaps because he could find no way to
weasel himself out of the situation. Ranma and Akane looked at each other
in shock.
Akane opened her mouth to say something, when the invasion began.
"Nihao, Ranma!"
"Ran-chan!"
"Ranma darling!!"
Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi entered the Tendo house at the same moment, but
through different entrances. Ukyo chose the front door. Kodachi came
flying through a window. And Shampoo simply crashed through the wall.
Tears began to form in Akane's eyes. "Fine! Spend your last hour on earth
with THEM!" Crying, she ran to her room.
"Erk," was all Ranma could say, since he was being crushed by his other
fiancees.
"Ranma! Shampoo must die with honor! You marry Shampoo now!"
"Ran-chan! After all we've been through, don't leave me alone now!"
"Ho ho ho ho!! Ranma, my darling, we will welcome a new world after these
peasants are vanquished!"
Growling, Ranma managed to disengage himself from the girls. "Don't you get
it?! We'll be DEAD in an hour! Why are you still fighting?"
"Why are you still abandoning me, Ran-chan?" asked Ukyo, with tears in her
eyes. "I. Love. You. I've always loved you. I just want to spend my
last hour loving you!"
Ranma began to stammer, as he always did when faced with a female's tears.
"Aw, don't cry, Ucchan. Come on, cut it out."
11:15pm
"Oh Ranma?" called Nabiki from the kitchen, "we need you in here!"
Grateful for the escape, Ranma ran into the kitchen. "Kasumi is making us a
wonderful meal," said Nabiki. "Why don't you get Akane and tell her to come
down and enjoy it. I'll take care of the others."
Confused, Ranma began to protest that they wouldn't want Akane anywhere near
their last meal, when he suddenly realized the meaning behind Nabiki's
words. He swallowed, nodded to Nabiki and Kasumi, and went up the stairs to
Akane's room.
*Knock knock*
"Who is it?" came Akane's muffled voice.
"Uh...it's me, Ranma."
Silence.
"Can I come in?"
The door opened and revealed a tear stained Akane, wearing her light yellow
nightgown. "What do you want, Ranma?"
"I, uh, just wanted to, uh..." he was beginning to lose his nerve, again.
Why? Even faced with the end of the world, he STILL couldn't talk to her!
Sensing his nervousness, Akane's face softened. "Want to come in?"
Ranma walked into the room. Akane sat on her bed, looking at him. Ranma
began to pace. Akane watched for a few minutes, and then began to get
impatient.
"Ranma! Are you going to spend your last hour alive wearing out my
carpet?!"
"Huh? No! Um...Akane, there's something I need to tell you..."
11:22pm
"RANMA! How dare you try to take advantage of Akane on her last night
alive! PREPARE TO DIE!" With those words, Ryoga Hibiki came crashing
through Akane's door.
"Aw, man, Ryoga, I ain't got the time for this!" Ranma automatically began
to block the punches and kicks that were coming at him.
"Ryoga!"
At the sound of Akane's voice, Ryoga stopped fighting. "Oh, uh, hi Akane!"
he said brightly.
Akane walked up to Ryoga and whispered something into his ear. Ryoga began
to turn bright red. "Really?" he asked, his voice cracking. Akane nodded.
Ryoga quickly turned and ran out of the room.
"What on earth did you tell him?"
"Just that I thought he might like to spend his last hour with someone who
loves him."
"And who is that?" Ranma laughed.
Akane shrugged. "Ukyo."
"WHAT?"
"Well, they both need someone right now! Unless you want to go downstairs
and be with her!"
11:38pm
Ranma struggled to remain calm. 22 minutes left, and they were fighting
again!
"Ranma?" asked Akane softly.
Ranma looked at her. REALLY looked at her. Nervous, he stepped towards
her, his eyes taking in her short blue-black hair, her bright eyes, her
turned up nose. He took a deep breath. And let it out. Why was he still
unable to say anything?
"Akane..." he began.
Akane stood, they were very close now, since Ranma had stepped near the bed
to look at her. She looked at him expectantly.
"Akane, I...uh..."
"Yes, Ranma?"
He could feel her warm breath on his face. He began to blush. He knew the
time was short. Summoning all of his courage, and knowing words would fail
him, he lowered his head and kissed her, just a light touching of his lips
on hers. When he broke the kiss and looked at her again, there were tears
in her eyes.
"Erk! Um...I thought..I..." he backed away from her, panicking at the sight
of her tears.
"Ranma!" She stepped up to him and rested her head on his chest, wrapping
her arms around him. His arms automatically found their way around her
body. They held each other, silent, for a full minute.
11:44pm
"I've waited so long," Akane said.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Not ever again. Ranma...we only have 15 minutes
left...I," Akane began to cry.
Ranma shook his head. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Akane nodded.
"Be right back!" Ranma ran out of the room and into his own. Akane turned
out the light, got into bed, and pulled the covers around herself.
Ranma came back into the room dressed in his green pajamas. He nervously
got into bed with Akane. He lay on his back under the covers. Akane rested
her head on his chest and he put his arm around her. "I can't think of
anywhere else I'd like to be right now. Good night, Ranma."
"Good night, Akane."
And for the last 11 minutes of their lives, they simply held each other
close.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
--
.---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List---.
| Administrators - ffml-admins@fanfic.com |
| Unsubscribing - ffml-request@fanfic.com |
| Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject |
`---http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt ---'