[Ranma][Fanfic][Dark] The Suicide
UkyouKwnji
Here's a somewhat disturbing fic I came up with shortly after
releasing My Dying Wish... someone was chatting me up in AOL at
the time, and while impressed with the piece, implored me not to
go killing myself again. I replied that I hadn't killed myself
in that story, I merely died... but it got me thinking (which isn't
always the best thing) Anyway, this brief story is the result of
contemplating a possible deliberate demise.
The Suicide
A Ranma1/2 fanfiction by Ukyou Kuonji
They had been friends, after a fashion, when they were teenagers,
but in the several years since they graduated from Furinkan High
School, he hadn't seen much of her around. She had joined Ranma
and Akane at Mizunoikan University, and he.. well, let's just say
he had gone his separate way. Whichever way that was.
Now that he'd essentially lost Akane (and he couldn't help but
kick himself for never having the nerve to actually tell her how
he felt about her), he took solace in the fact that his darling
Akari loved him deeply. And he tried to spend as much time with
her as he could. To tell the truth, he'd actually started to enjoy
spending time at the Unryuu farm, despite the pigs. He especially
enjoyed taking walks around the place. It never ceased to amaze
him how BIG the place was. It seemed to him that you were within
sight of Fuji-san at one end of it, and you had a gorgeous view of
Sakhalin Island at the other.
At the moment, however, he wasn't wandering around what he thought
was the farm. He was merely lost. As usual. And he knew it. But
where was he this time? It was a forest, and the place looked
vaguely familiar, but what did that mean? He'd seen more than
his share of forests in his travels, and after awhile, they all
began to blur together. The familiar feeling he was getting meant
nothing. He might have been here before, or he might not have.
For that matter, he might just have circled around to where he'd
been only ten minutes before. In any case, it wasn't enough to
give him a clue as to where he was.
It was getting hot, and humid. The air was almost oppressive.
And it was only what? April? May? When you get as lost as
frequently as Ryoga, the fourth dimension takes on as little
meaning as the other three. Still, it didn't mean he couldn't
still be in Japan -- late spring could get pretty warm there,
after all. He continued to press on through the undergrowth,
until he came to a small clearing. He was about to stop and set
up camp - it was starting to get late -- when he saw it.
There was a body off in a corner of the clearing, by a clump of
bushes. Ryoga's curiosity got the better of him, and he went over
to investigate.
It was a girl, about his age. She was lying face down, spread-
eagled on the ground. There were dark patches staining the dirt
and grass around both her wrists and neck. She had evidently laid
there for the better part of the day, as the stained grass crumbled
to Ryoga's touch.
Ryoga stood up, and stared at the dead girl. He had never come
across anything like this before. To him, suicide was a coward's
way out. Surely, he had, in his lifetime, suffered more than this
poor soul had. He could not imagine otherwise. But he held no
contempt, no self-righteous pity for the girl who lay at his feet.
Only sorrow, a sadness at the wasted life that gave up just a bit
too soon to realize that there would be more to it all than mere
despair. He knew from personal experience that even the most
miserable of souls could find happiness, however temporal, on this
earth, if they sought long and hard enough. He bowed his head, and
uttered a silent prayer that this girl's soul would find that rest
and happiness in the next world. He could hear the clicking and
chirping of what sounded like insects, and a sense of peace filled
his own soul. Somehow, he knew all would be right for her in the
end.
Now, he debated with himself as to what to do with the body.
Clearly, she had gone off into these woods so that her death would
cause the least disturbance for others. Perhaps he should respect
that, and leave her to become one with the elements, and decay
naturally. He continued to examine the place where she lay: she
certainly had made an effort to die beautifully. At her head was
pooled the wax remains of what had evidently been a thick, red votive
candle. Some of the wax had run over a rather blurry photograph,
affixing it to the ground. And by her right hand, stirring slightly
in the gentle breeze, he noticed a piece of paper. Her suicide note,
apparently. It was impaled into the ground by a small metal stake.
He bent down to examine the note. The handwriting looked oddly
familiar, but the characters themselves made no sense. It was a
random mish-mosh of kanji and hiragana; some of the kanji, in fact,
were characters he'd never seen before. He looked around. Could he
be in China? But why would a Chinese girl be using hiragana?
A second look at the note revealed a single word that made sense to
him. A name: "Ran-chan."
Lightning struck. With a mighty pull, he yanked the stake holding
the note out of the stained ground. It was a spatula.
No! It... couldn't be. Hardly daring to imagine it, Ryoga reached
for the body, and turned it over. It was her, indeed. Ukyou.
With tears streaming down his face, Ryoga stood up. A ferocious
howl of anguish filled the woods. Righteous anger swelled inside of
Ryoga. This was Ranma's fault -- again! If there was nothing else
in Ukyou's note that made sense, this much was still clear. All the
misery he had visited upon him, Ryoga had forgiven as past mistakes.
But now, he would not be fighting for his own selfish vengeance. He
would avenge his friend, who had no one to stand for her. This was
a purer vengeance than any he had ever sought. Ranma would pay
for this: "I swear this to you, Ukyou! He will pay!"
There was a rustle in the clump of bushes by Ukyou's head. "Who's
there?!" A young man stood up, clutching a camera with a telephoto
lens.
"That was magnificent, sir! I hadn't expected such footage as a
grieving friend, but that was something else! I hope you don't mind,
but could I take a few more shots? It's for a -- urk!" He was cut
off, as Ryoga grabbed him by the collar.
"How long have you been here?"
"Ah.. er.. ggl.. most of the day.."
"AND YOU DIDN"T TRY TO SAVE HER?!"
"What are you talking about? She's helping me out with.."
"She's DEAD, you idiot!! And you're just standing here taking
PICTURES?!" Ryoga grabbed the camera from him and split it in two
with his bare hands.
All at once, there was the sound of sheet metal smacking against
bone, and Ryoga dropped to his knees. "Whaddya think yer doing, you
jackass? That was a fifty-thousand yen camera you just broke! And
now, we'll have to do the photo shoot over. I swear, if Kazuya flunks
his photography class because of you..."
Ryoga was stunned, and not from the blow to the head. "U.. Ukyou?
You're.. alive!"
***
Somebody's gonna tell me this was a rather cruel trick to play on Ryoga.
I'm not gonna argue it, but I just wanted to do something with this
scene I had envisioned, and this was what popped out. I think I'm
still hung up on MDW, folks.
I dunno. I could write an extended denouement to this story, but it
seems appropriate to have an abrupt ending to it. Whaddya all think?
Lemme know at
Hope to hear from you soon! Until then, ja!
Itsu mo,
Ucchan ^_^