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Note to the list members: This story was written by my friend Scott, who
asked me to post it for him. Please don't hit "reply" if you want to send
him C&C, but use the address he provided.
Kara
The characters belong to the esteemed Rumiko Takahashi. I wrote this story
based on a dream I had. It was a very vivid dream and I felt I had to write
this to get it out of my head. I have to thank KaraOhki for providing a few
suggestions and ideas which helped me to write this, as well as for coming
up with a title for this fic. C&C is welcome, but send it to me at
fltadmracer@hotmail.com, not to KaraOhki. And please don't kill me.
Departure
by Scott "Apollo Racer" Stevens
*****
"LOOK OUT, RANMA!!"
Ranma jumped just as a telephone pole came crashing down where she had been
standing, splintering into toothpicks. The instigator glared at her.
Before it had started to rain, Ranma was walking home from the grocery store
with Akane and their two children, Toshika and Takuya. The 5- and 4-year
olds, respectively, were raising a ruckus as usual, poking and jabbing while
alternately trying to hide behind their parents' legs, though it was kind of
hard as they were walking. Akane would frown at such behavior, while Ranma
just smiled it away and told her to think of it as part of their training.
She didn't know whether to be madder at the kids or their father, then.
They were almost home when they heard, "HEY, CROSSDRESSER!!" Ranma looked
to see Pantyhose Taro standing several paces ahead of them. "I've got a
score to settle with you!" Then he charged, giving Ranma little time to do
anything other than defend himself. Akane knew to get the kids out of the
way so none of them would get hurt.
It was half an hour since then, and the fight had gravitated toward the high
school. The sky had also opened up, so now instead of two men fighting it
was a woman and a beast that would probably be more comfortable in Greek
mythology. Akane had followed the pair of combatants while still keeping
her children well away from them. They had agreed on this strategy back
when Toshi was born... when one was challenged, the other would keep the
children from harm.
The thunder that rumbled in the distance mixed with the sound of Taro
slamming into the pavement from one of Ranma's well-placed ki blasts.
"Dammit, Taro, can't you just leave me the hell alone?! I'm with my family
for cryin' out loud!"
The beast's growl gave Ranma her answer as it charged again. Akane, while
watching the fight, found herself pinned to the fence. She went past the
gate into the schoolyard, and the fight now lay between her and that exit.
But she wasn't going to let something as silly as a fence get in her way.
She hopped up onto the fence and crouched down. "Toshi, give me your
hands!"
The girl thought this looked like a fun game and eagerly jumped up. Her
mother caught her arms easily, then she rose, spun around and dropped Toshi
to her feet on the other side. She turned again. "Okay Takuya, your turn."
She glance to the side and saw Ranma and Taro trading blows, getting closer.
"C'mon, Takuya, JUMP!"
The little boy, who had been trying to jump but didn't quite reach her,
suddenly heard the concern in her voice. He realized that his mommy was
afraid of something and gave it that extra bit of effort. She barely caught
his hands and shuffling him up to get a better grip, carried him over like
his sister. Toshi was there to catch her little brother... he landed next
to her and they fell in a heap.
At that moment, the fighters hit the fence. Akane bobbled, trying to regain
her balance, arms waving wildly. If she could just get her foot back down
on the fence she could flip to safety. Her other foot slid off the fence
and she started to fall.
Then lightning struck the fence with a loud crack. Akane was frozen as
electricity arced from the fence and coursed through her body. Ranma was
struck by a powerful right cross that snapped her head facing Akane's
direction. She watched as the bolt shot Akane away from the fence and threw
her to the ground. "AKANE!!" Ranma shouted. With a burst of
adrenaline-laced strength she punted Taro into the stratosphere. She leapt
over the fence without touching it, hit the ground at a run and stopped next
to her wife. "Akane, speak to me." Akane didn't speak, she just lay there
smoldering.
Toshika had a finger hanging from her mouth. "Otoosan, what's wrong with
Okaasan?"
Ranma moved to touch Akane and got a slight shock. "Ack! Your mom is hurt,
kids. We have to get her to Tofu's." For the children's sake, she
deliberately maintained her cool. She touched Akane again and, satisfied
that any charge had bled off, picked her up. "C'mon, let's go!" They took
off at a run for Tofu's clinic.
*****
They were lucky Tofu had decided to reopen his clinic after coming back to
marry Kasumi. Now he was in the examining room while Kasumi was trying to
comfort Ranma, who had used some hot water as soon as they got there. The
kids were playing with toys kept in the waiting room for parents who brought
their kids in.
"There really wasn't anything you could do, Ranma," Kasumi said to him.
"You busy with Taro, and Akane was simply in the wrong place."
Ranma looked dejected. "Yeah, but I still feel like I coulda done
somethin."
"What could you have done? Predicted where the lightning would strike? No
one can do that. Please don't beat yourself up." She stood. "Let me get
you some tea while you wait," she said with a smile. Ranma nodded, but
Kasumi was already off.
A short time later the door to the examining room opened up. Akane walked
out slowly, a little worse for wear, followed closely by Tofu. Ranma jumped
to his feet and headed toward her. "Akane!"
"I'm all right, Ranma," she said.
Tofu nodded in agreement. "She received a pretty nasty shock from the
lightning, but it would have been much worse if she had actually been in
contact with the fence when it struck. Just take her home and let her get
some rest. She should be all right."
The relief was evident on his face. "Thanks, Tofu. C'mon kids, let's take
your mother home."
The children instantly stopped playing with the toys. "Yayyyy, Okaasan's
all right!" They bounded off after their parents. "Bye Auntie Kasumi! Bye
Uncle Tofu!" The couple waved at the siblings.
Tofu saw the tea in Kasumi's hand. "For me? Thank you." He took the tea
and began sipping it.
Kasumi blinked. "Well... you're welcome."
*****
The next few days seemed to be going by normally, with one exception. Ranma
noticed that Akane seemed to be on an extremely short fuse, much worse than
when they were first dating. The night they went to the Tendo household,
they related the incident to their parents. Soun looked cross. "How could
you place my daughter and my grandchildren in such jeopardy, Ranma!"
"But there was nothin' I could do!" Ranma protested.
"Yeah, boy!" Genma threw in. "What is your problem?! What kind of a man are
you to endanger your family?"
Akane suddenly slammed her fist on the table and jumped up, her aura
brightly glowing. "Will you both just GET OFF HIS BACK!! He can't be
everywhere at once! I can take care of myself AND the children so just
leave him alone!"
Both fathers fell silent at her tongue-lashing. "Uhhhh... thanks, Akane,"
Ranma said looking grateful.
Then she turned on him. "You shut up!! We wouldn't be getting into trouble
if you didn't attract your damn enemies like a magnet! How can you expect
me to keep our kids safe when you're always FIGHTING!"
Ranma was put off by the accusation. "Hey, how am I supposed ta help it if
these jerks don't know enough to leave me alone after they get beat! If you
woulda just stayed put instead a followin' me..."
He didn't finish his statement. Her well-used mallet smashed him through
the floor. "Don't argue with me in front of the kids!" Akane turned and
stormed off in a huff.
The parents blinked after her. "A bit touchy today, isn't she, Saotome?"
Genma nodded. "The boy didn't even get to the point of calling her names."
Nodoka, sitting next to Genma, swatted her husband. "Akane has just been
through a terrible trauma. I think she's allowed a little indulgence, don't
you think?" She turned toward her son. "Ranma, why don't you go see what's
bothering Akane?" He got out from under the mallet, nodded and, rubbing his
sore head, went out the door. Nodoka watched him go, then looked sternly at
her grandchildren. "Now Toshika, Tokuya, don't let this little spat
distract you. Finish your plates." Then she smacked a hand holding a pair
of chopsticks heading toward their food. "No helping them, husband."
Ranma walked out the door into the yard. Akane looked as though she was
heading for the dojo, but she was just standing in the middle of the yard.
He approached cautiously, prepared for anything from unbridled rage to
crying, but what he saw instead puzzled him.
She was staring at the dojo unmoving, unblinking... her face was completely
blank. Ranma put a hand gently on her shoulder? "Akane?"
Whatever she was doing, the contact seemed to have snapped her out of it.
She shook her head to clear it. "Wha...? Oh, Ranma."
"Are you all right."
"I... I think so."
He pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry Akane. I shouldn'ta argued with ya
in front of the kids."
Akane held him close, basking in his warmth. "It's okay, Ranma."
"You sure you're all right?"
In answer, she pulled back and gave him her bright smile that always caught
him off guard. "Of course I am. Come on, let's go back inside before your
father steals our food." She took his hand and led him back into the house.
*****
The rest of the week held much the same as that night. The slightest thing
out of place was enough to set Akane into a roaring tangent. Ranma was only
lucky enough that the kids were in school a majority of the time. Then one
day while the kids were in school they were sparring in the dojo. Ranma got
under Akane's guard and knocked her on her back. She stayed down, and he sa
id, "C'mon Akane, I know you can do better than that. I've hit you worse
than that before and you've gotten up faster, rarin for more."
Akane glared at him... she sat up and got to her feet, only to fall back
down. In the blink of an eye, Ranma was by her side. "Akane, are you
okay?"
She put a hand up to her head. "I... I think so. Just feel a little
dizzy."
He helped her to her feet. "That's it for training. You're going inside to
rest."
"Ranma, I'll be FINE! Just give me..."
"No arguments!" he snapped. Suddenly Akane knew how worried he was and
quieted immediately. He helped her inside and made her lie on the sofa
while he made her some tea. He sat with her until she finished the cup,
then made sure she went upstairs to bed.
"I'm sorry, Ranma," she said. "I'll be better tomorrow."
He shushed her and kissed her forehead. "Don't rush yourself. Just get
better at your own pace. We'll have plenty of time to spar."
She gave him a weak smile. "I love you, Ranma."
He smiled back at her. "I love you too, Akane." He turned and left the
room so she could get some sleep.
The children came home and he told them not to bother their mother. They
ate dinner in silence, he spent some time with them helping them practice
and then put them to bed. When that was done he had nothing else to do, so
he decided to go to bed himself. Ranma went into the bedroom and saw Akane
sleeping peacefully. He grinned at her before climbing into the futon with
her. He gave her a light peck on her cheek. "Sleep well, Akane," he
whispered before curling up with her and falling asleep.
*****
Ranma shivered into wakefulness. <Why does the bed seem cold?> His first
thought was that Akane had gotten up early, but a tentative probe showed
that she still lay next to him. That made him smile... Ranma always liked
to watch Akane sleep; she looked so cute when she did. He wrapped his arm
around her. <She's like ice. What...> His mind surged into full focus as
the last missing piece clicked. Usually he could hear her soft breathing as
she slept. This time it was painfully absent. "Akane?" He held his hand
under her nose but felt no air pass. "Akane?!" Ranma sat up quickly. His
wife was pale, her lips blue. He tried shaking her vigorously, fear
creeping into his mind. "Akane, please wake up! Wake up, Akane!" She felt
stiff in his hands, her flesh had a waxy cast to it.
The neighborhood was wakened by his mournful cry.
*****
The family was gathered around Ranma at the hospital. He simply sat staring
at the floor with a haunted look in his eyes. The only warning they had
gotten that Ranma left was the sound of the upstairs window smashing. When
the parents ran up to see what happened, they found the window to Ranma and
Akane's room blasted out and the couple in question nowhere to be seen.
Since no one knew where they went, they could only wait. Their answer came
when the hospital called them and told them he had brought Akane in. They
all rushed over as soon as they could.
Two doctors came out of an emergency room. One of them was Tofu... one look
at his expression told them the worst. "What happened?" Nodoka said when no
one else could ask.
The other doctor looked to Tofu to speak. Since he was their doctor it
seemed right that he gave the news. "There was... a blood clot. She had it
from the lightning strike. I don't know how I missed it... but somehow it
worked its way loose and lodged in her heart. There was nothing we could
do."
Suddenly the water works broke loose as Soun wailed, "My little baby's
gooooooone!!" Nabiki and Kasumi hugged each other... though the middle
daughter absolutely refused to cry, Kasumi did enough for both of them.
Tofu's glasses fogged up. "I'm terribly sorry about this. I wish I knew
what to do."
"It's all my fault."
Heads turned to stare. "Ranma, what do you..."
"It's all my fault," he repeated in a monotone. "If we hadn'ta sparred,
that clot wouldn'ta worked itself loose."
"Ranma, how could you blame yourself for that?" Nodoka demanded. "You
didn't know any more than we did that she had a blood clot."
"She's right, Ranma," Tofu said in agreement. "I don't know how I could
have missed it when I examined her. And I can't tell you enough how sorry I
am that she's gone."
"It wasn't your fault, Tofu," the other doctor said. "From what I had seen,
anyone could have missed it. This is quite unfortunate."
Suddenly, silently, Ranma stood. "What are you doing, boy?" Genma asked.
Ranma said nothing... he simply turned and headed for the exit. "Did you
hear me, boy? I said where are you going!"
He stopped and only slightly turned his head. "Leave me alone." Then he
resumed walking.
Nodoka was worried. "Ranma, please don't leave. You need your family right
now."
"I don' need nobody."
Tofu followed him. "Ranma, please. I know how you must feel. I'm very
sorry. I can't explain how I could have missed it."
Something in Ranma snapped, and he whirled to face Tofu. "How can you SAY
THAT?! How can you say you shouldn't have missed anything. You DID! And
now my wife is DEAD! How can you possibly know how I feel?! You didn't
lose YOUR wife! Now back the hell off and LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Ranma turned
and ran from the hospital.
The family looked after him until Kasumi felt a tug on her skirt. She
looked down to see Takuya staring up at her. "Auntie Kasumi, why is Otoosan
mad? Where is Okaasan?"
"Yeah," chimed in Toshika. "When can we see Okaasan?"
Kasumi looked at the children with tears in her eyes, then she looked at the
exit where Ranma had recently fled. "Oh my," was all she could say.
*****
The funeral service was a quiet ceremony. There was no small feeling of
love and loss for the youngest Tendo girl. Ranma stood there, emotionally
detached. He had a child holding each hand, and his head was bowed
solemnly. Takuya watched with a detached curiosity... he wasn't yet old
enough to figure out what was going on. Toshika wasn't old enough either...
her face was red from crying because there were other people crying, and she
stared sadly at the memorial setting. A wreath of Akane's favorite flowers
framed a smiling portrait of her.
As they left for home, Ranma felt as though he was leaving the best part of
him behind.
*****
He had closed himself off in his room for a full day, but he couldn't sleep,
not in the spot where his wife had died. He went out the window and lay on
the roof, staring at the sky, but that held no meaning anymore, either.
Finally he jumped down and decided to take a walk. He hadn't gone too far
when he heard, "Thou hast gone too far, foul knave!"
He turned to see Kuno standing there, his bokken pointed in Ranma's
direction. "I'm not in the mood, Kuno. Leave me alone," he muttered.
"Nay, Saotome. Thou wilt not escape justice this time. I could have
forgiven you for stealing the heart of fair Akane, for using your sorcerous
wiles to win her over, for she seemed happy even if it were the product of
an evil spell. But now that you have taken her sweet, innocent soul from
this earthly plane... THAT I cannot tolerate! Defend yourself!"
Kuno lunged, driving Ranma back on the defensive. For some reason, he
couldn't press himself to attack Kuno as he usually would. It was also
evident to Kuno that Ranma was only defending himself... he didn't
counterattack like normal. Worse, Kuno's attacks were actually getting
through. Suddenly, Ranma left himself wide open, and Kuno used it to his
advantage. With an upward swipe of his bokken, he struck Ranma solidly,
sending him off his feet and on his back.
Ranma propped himself on his arms to find the tip of the bokken in his face.
"I must admit this, Saotome... in our past battles, I actually enjoyed the
challenges you gave me. For all that I despised you, I respected you as a
worthy opponent. Today you have shown me that you've fallen, further than
maybe even you have realized. You are not the evil sorcerer I thought you
to be... now you are merely a pathetic fool, and beyond my attentions." He
sheathed his bokken and left Ranma alone.
Ranma started to pick himself up off the ground. When he finally staggered
to his feet, a cry split the air. "RANMAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Ryoga fell from the sky and landed on Ranma, driving him back to the ground.
The lost boy quickly leapt off him, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and
hoisted him up. "How DARE you let Akane die?! I trusted you to keep her
safe!" Before Ranma could say anything in his defense, Ryoga slammed his
fist into him, driving Ranma into a wall. His mind was spinning. <Why
can't I fight back?> he thought. <What's wrong with me?>
Ryoga stood there in an attack stance, tears streaming from his eyes. "I
trusted you to keep the only woman I ever TRULY loved safe, and you let her
die!" His aura glowed bright green, something Ranma had rarely seen. "Now
the only thing I have left to live for is to see you die! DIE, RANMA! SHI
SHI HOKODAN!!"
The Depression Blast drove Ranma backward, through the wall and into the
canal. As she climbed slowly from the water, Ryoga was already there,
driving her face into the dirt. During this beating, it suddenly clicked in
Ryoga's mind that Ranma wasn't fighting back. He looked at her, lying in
the dirt, in her own blood... her body shook with sobs. <Crying? Ranma's
crying?>
"Why can't I fight back," Ranma cried. "Why can't I defend myself?
Maybe... maybe I truly do deserve to die."
Ryoga was shocked to hear this. He never thought he would see the day when
Ranma would actually give up. Suddenly he relaxed, and the green aura was
gone. "You've lost, Ranma. More than you know. If you won't fight back,
then you're not worth fighting anymore. I won't kill you like this." As he
turned to leave, he looked back over his shoulder at Ranma. "Goodbye,
Ranma. I hope you live with what you've done for a long time." He left
before she could say anything in her defense. She stayed there for a good
part of the day until Kasumi found her. She and Tofu had gone looking for
Ranma when they found her lying there. They had waited until Ryoga was out
of sight before going to retrieve her. Then they took her to the clinic,
gave her hot water and bandaged Ranma up.
The next night he was back at the Tendo residence. The kids were in the
sitting room with him, bickering at each other. Takuya was getting mad at
his sister for picking on him and started pushing her back. "Quit it! Stop
pushing me," Toshika whined.
"Leave me alone then," Takuya said, punching her.
"TAKUYA!" Ranma snapped. "How many times does she have to tell you to leave
her alone! Stop HITTING HER!"
"RANMA!"
Ranma suddenly looked up at his mother. She watched him with a look of
horror. It wasn't until he saw this and looked down at Takuya, who was
literally trembling with fear, that he realized his hand was raised to
strike his son. Toshika huddled her brother close, both of them staring at
their father who had never once raised a hand to them before.
He stared at his hand, slowly bringing it down. Then he looked at his
mother. "What's happened to me?"
Nodoka quickly rushed over and took her son into his arms, where he started
crying. "I'm losing everything," he sobbed. "I can't fight anymore, I
can't hold Akane anymore..." he looked into his mother's eyes. "I almost
hit my children... I almost hit my children..."
She gently rocked with him in her arms. "But you didn't. You didn't,
Ranma. That's what counts." She stared at the wall above her
grandchildren's heads, very concerned for her son.
*****
The next day, Nodoka came into the house and looked around. "Husband, where
are Ranma and the children. Did he take them out for the day?"
Genma didn't look up from the go board between him and Soun. "No, dear. He
was going to give the kids to Kasumi for the day. He said had some things
he had to do."
Nodoka nodded and went up to their room. Not long after, she came back
down. "Husband! We must find Ranma!"
"Why? He needs time on his own."
She swatted him across the head. "We must find him, husband! My tanto is
missing!"
Both men looked at her in shock, instantly reaching the conclusion she had.
They phoned Nabiki and notified her of what was going on. She immediately
left her job, citing a family emergency, and joined in the search. Nodoka
then contacted Kasumi, told her what was going on and asked her to keep an
eye on the children for a little longer. The elder sister was horrified at
what she heard but agreed to keep the children until they found Ranma.
They went to every shrine and hospital they could find, but Ranma wasn't at
any of them. They even went to all of his old haunts, hoping to find him
there. But there was no sign of him.
It was getting close to dark when the group wearily made it back home. They
were about to enter the house when they saw a light coming from the dojo.
Nodoka turned to Genma. "You did say he left, right?"
"That's what he said he was doing."
"But you didn't actually SEE him leave, did you?"
Genma looked to Soun, who shrugged guiltily. He got another swat from his
wife. "You were too wrapped up in that game." She rushed to the dojo, the
others following close behind. She opened the door and gave a gasp. "Oh
dear..."
Ranma was sitting facing away from them. From the setup around him, it was
clear what ritual he had been in. Nodoka didn't want to see, but she forced
herself to move around in front of her son.
Ranma was hunched over, his hands gripping the handle of the tanto. The
blade couldn't be seen... it was embedded in his chest. Nodoka let out a
shrill cry and gathered her son into her arms. The men sadly looked at the
scene, leaning against each other with tears streaming down their faces.
Nabiki walked around to a note left on a stand under two pictures. The
first was of her mother, the second of Akane, the latter just recently
placed there. She picked up the paper and read it. After all that had
happened, a tear finally made its way down her cheek. "He... he wanted to
tell us he's sorry. He felt that he failed as a husband and protector by
letting Akane die; he failed as a son for letting you down; he failed as a
martial artist, because with Akane's death he lost the will to fight.
And... and he also felt he failed as a father, because he neglected his
children when they needed him the most."
Nodoka's crying intensified as she held her dead son tightly against her.
"Why?! Oh why didn't you talk to us, son? We would have tried to help you
through this!"
Soun looked forlornly at the grieving mother. He put his hand on Genma's
shoulder. "Saotome... if Ranma feels he's failed as a son... does that mean
we've failed as fathers?"
For once, Genma had no answer for that.
*****
All too soon, the families found themselves back at the cemetery, huddled
under a pavilion in the rain and praying for the safe journey of a loved
one's soul. This time, the picture displayed was that of a confident,
smiling Ranma. "Well," Nabiki said, breaking the silence, "they're together
now."
Genma nodded, holding up a sign that read, "He doesn't have to worry about
his curse anymore."
Toshika turned to her grandmother. "Did Otoosan go see Okaasan?"
Nodoka brushed away a tear. "Yes he did, Toshi."
"Will he be coming back?"
She stifled a whimper, held back another wave of tears that threatened to
fall. "No child... he won't be coming back."
Kasumi touched her arm. "Auntie Nodoka, who will care for his children
now?"
It was Soun who came up with the answer. "We all will, Kasumi. We shall
raise the children together. It's what they would have wanted." They
turned and left the cemetery, heading for home.
----------------------------------------------------
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