As always, Ranma 1/2 is the property of some big
faceless corperation, that held back the progress of
the minidisk because it was too much of a threat to
their market share! Don't accept copyright law! Use
Napster! Down with authority!
*the author is dragged away by some nice men in
whitecoats*
******
It's been almost three months since I last saw
Ranma. Finally got out of that cast about a week ago.
I tried to help them too... those who stayed, anyway.
Ukyo just vanished. Packed up and gone. Another
yakitoriya bought up her shop, not that she got any
money from
it.
Colonge and Shampoo left for China. Mousse followed
pretty soon after, and the Cat Cafe was bought up by
some company. Last I saw it, there were two yellow
arches
above the cat.
Ranma's father ran away. Nothing new about that.
And the Tendos... I tried, I really tried to help
them. Nabiki and Kasumi, I don't even know if I can
reach. The place is sparkling, and nearly richer than
the Kunos, but... cold. Soun seems to have gone
catatonic, meditating in the family shine all the
time. And Akane...
Damn you, Ranma. She really loved you, you bastard.
She looks like--well, like I usually feel. Nearly
anything sets her off, and you can never tell what's
going to happen. She could crush you with a punch, or
collapse into tears.
I still remember how she looked when I last saw
her... Thin, eyes burning with hate for... something.
Fearful and dispair, her hands red from all the
destruction she'd wrecked...
She won't trust anyone now. She just refuses to let
anyone in. Damnit, Ranma! Even dead, you still manage
to screw up our lives!
But you can't fix it. I don't really know if anyone
can. Maybe that's why I'm here.
Yokosuka Correctional Facility. Gosunkugi Hikaru's
Prison.
I'll need to thank Nabiki for the taxi later.
The place is a fort. There's just no better way to
describe it. Stone walls twenty, maybe thirty feet
high, guard towers every thirty yards, spotlights, the
works. I could try to bust in--no. I want answers, not
death.
"Excuse me, friend. Are you lost?" HOLY SH-
Let go of the wall, Ryoga; breathe, breathe...
How the hell did this guy do that? I couldn't even
feel his presence. He doesn't look like a fighter.
He tips his hat back, watching me with deep green
eyes. "Oh, dear. I do apologize. I had no intention of
scaring you."
Well, he's obviously not here to hurt me. "You
didn't."
A deep chuckle from this strange pale man. He leans
on a oak cane, smiling. "Of course not. Now then my
good Ryoga, I ask again--Are you lost?"
I don't know what it is, but I feel relaxed around
this guy. "Yes."
"You're looking for Gosunkugi, correct?"
I find myself staring blankly at his suit. It's a
really nice suit, deep blue with red vest and tie.
"Yes."
He smiles again. Something deep within me struggles
at that smile, and I shake my head.
"Well then, lets get going. I have a meeting with
the killer myself. I'm certain the guards would have
no problem with another guest."
I feel strange. It's like I'm half awake, and
something is happening... I turn and look at this man,
and see those deep green eyes again.
"Won't that be nice?"
"Yes." It will be nice of those guards to let me
through.
We get through easily enough. He simply talks to the
guards as we pass them, and we wander through the jail
unintterupted.
This place is huge. Every staircase leads down, and
I
haven't seen any sunlight for nearly an hour now. The
steel and concrete of the cells dimly lit by
lightbulbs. Oddly enough, none of the criminals seem
to
notice us.
It's weird. All of them are in the exact same
position;
hands on their knees, legs crossed, staring at a
wall...
I haven't even heard them. Not a cough, not a
whisper,
not even a breath. Only the green-eyed man's cane as
it
taps the floor.
Eventually, at what I think is the bottom of this
maze, we come to a very small room. It's completely
sealed in concrete, with only a small steel door.
My friend snaps his fingers. "I forgot the keys.
Drat. It looks like-"
I am NOT going all the way back up there. My fist
smashes into the door.
It obligingly explodes inward, flying a short
distance before coming to a skidding halt at a huddled
form.
Dear god, it smells. This place reeks of... sewage?
Not much light gets in this box, but I don't see a
toliet. Just a small pile in the corner.
I step inside, and watch the figure shaking on the
door. It's clothes are well kept, but it... a fair
amount of blood stains the cloth.
"So good to see you again, Gos."
The figure shrieks, scrambling away to a corner.
This is Gosukugi? Kami...
He looks like a skeleton. His skin hangs on him like
those rags, and his eyes are sunken, making him
look... well, worse than Ranma.
Gosukugi raises a shaking finger at my friend, tears
sliding down his face. "You tricked me!"
"Now, now, Gos. Ryoga here has some questions for
you." I can feel that gaze on me.
It doesn't matter what he's been treated like. He's
a killer, and deserves it. I need answers.
To what?
What can he tell me?
"Why?"
He turns to me, a tight frown on his lips. "Why?
WHY?" Gosukugi starts to laugh, his body jerking about
like some sort of deranged puppet, before he falls to
the ground, glaring at me with undisguised hate.
"You would ask me that? Martial Artists. You
couldn't begin to understand."
The bastard. I reach down, grab him by the neck,
and lift him into the air. "TELL ME WHY."
"You want to know? You don't care."
I punch him. "TELL ME!"
He crumples, but doesn't make a sound, then just
above
a whisper, "I did it... because you don't care."
"What?"
"None of you. For two years, they beat me, and no
one helped. For two years, I respected her, I waited,
I didn't attack, and was beaten for my patience. And
then HE came along!"
I drop him, stepping back, "What do you mean?"
By now, Hikaru has stopped listening, instead
ranting like a madman. "Everything I did, I did for
her! I loved her! And he came and destroyed it! But I
thought... I thought maybe one day, she would see.
Maybe, one day, they would accept me... maybe..."
He bends over, crying. "But you never saw me. Never
could see me... I tried magic to be seen, to be
loved... I tried everything and you COULDN'T SEE ME!"
All this for attention?
"You blew up a school so someone could notice you?"
He rocks back and forth, crying. "It wasn't supposed
to be this way. He wasn't supposed to come... she... I
would've given anything for her... anything..."
I feel a pressure on my arm. "We won't get anything
more from him, Ryoga. You wait outside. I need to have
a few words with our friend here."
I nod, turning to the door.
Behind me, I hear Hikaru's voice, "NO! Don't leave
me here with him! Please!"
I leave, closing the door behind me, and waiting.
Wait a minute... closing the door? I turn, and sure
enough, there's the solid steel door I just latched.
The door I blew off its hinges almost ten minutes ago.
But how-
The door opens, and out steps the green-eyed man.
Something flickers across my vision as I look at him.
My guard comes up automatically.
He smiles. "Now what are you doing, Ryoga?"
My name...
"Who are you?"
Those green eyes seem to burn for a moment, "Just a
third party with interests at stake. Now Ryoga, may I
ask what you think you're doing?"
Just a concern- my name. How does he know my name?!
"Who
are you?!" I swing blindly, trying to drive out this
pressure in my head.
It doesn't even come close to connecting, and he's
managed to grab my head. My arms feel like they're
pinned to
my sides, my legs like lead weights.
He wrenches my head until we're facing each other,
until
I see those eyes...
Those eyes... for almost a minute, there's only
those eyes... "Really Ryoga, do you think it's wise to
attack me? I am your guide, after all. Come now, lets
get you out into the fresh air. This prison time must
be doing a number on your mind."
Need fresh air...
"Yes..."
The next few moments are a blur. I went through the
prison again, but didn't see any details. It's like
I'm dreaming.
*****
Author's notes:
Is this the end? Hardly. There's still tons of
sidestories, including Hikaru's own. And I did promise
someone else another scene with Ranma... and then
there are all the goodbyes...
Heck, I could be writing this into my eighties, if I
live that long. But the main parts of the story, the
actual plot, end here. The rest is fleshing out the
skeleton.
Yokosuka Prison does exist, and the prisoners really
do end up sitting like that, completely silent, at
least according to the copious amounts of data Larry
politely blugeoned me with.
By the way, thank you for that, Larry. It really
helped the story.
As always, C&C is appreciated, but even a "Hey! You
wrote something!" would be nice.
Zalabar
"This is the end?"
[There is no end. The story is everlasting.]
"But my turn is over."
[For now.]
"So now what?"
--Crash, opening lines
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