Aight, I recieved some C&C, and I've rewritten it. Please tell me what you
think still needs to be fixed and/or what was better before.
***********************
Surprisingly enough, Ranma wasn't all that sad about leaving. More
angry, really. He HAD been thinking this over for a long time, and he HAD
weighed all sides of the issue (a first for Ranma), and he had eventually
come to the conclusion that leaving was the best choice. However, in going
through that process, he had made some discoveries that he didn't like.
Ryoga, even though Ranma considered him a friend, didn't like Ranma.
He had known that before, but he had never really wanted to accept it.
Ryoga was always there to help Ranma stay in shape, to help his form, to
keep him going. That wasn't how Ryoga saw it. Ranma realized that after
reliving his relationship with Ryoga. Yeah, Ryoga had worked with him and
helped him from time to time, but more often than not, Ryoga was just trying
to get Ranma killed, and a bigger problem had presented itself. No, Ryoga
wasn't a friend.
Ukyo...Ukyo would never be what Ranma wanted her to be. He wanted
Ukyo to be a friend, nothing more. That wouldn't happen. No matter what,
he had to break her heart, because he just couldn't marry her. He didn't
feel that way about her. No, not Ukyo. And when he finally told her that,
she would never forgive him. Ukyo was lost.
Shampoo...well, Shampoo could have been considered the positive side
to the whole situation, if it even had a positive side. Shampoo really
didn't like Ranma, she was just trying to marry him because of some silly
Amazon law. That means that when he finally convinced her that they
wouldn't ever get married, she wouldn't have been hurt. Actually, the only
reason she had kept going after him was because of the old ghoul, Cologne.
Unfortunately, Cologne was a problem in and of herself. Because of Cologne,
Shampoo would NEVER have stopped trying to win Ranma's heart. Which was a
really sad thing, because everyone could tell that Shampoo had actually been
in love with Mousse for a long, long time. What had happened at the hands
of Lord Toma just reinforced that fact. Anyways, Ranma had decided that he
couldn't get rid of Cologne, and therefore couldn't get rid of Shampoo.
Another friend, lost.
That made Ranma so mad! No friends! NONE! Not even Hiroshi and
Daisuke! They just wanted to be his friend to either get close to his
female side or to stay out of the wrath of his male side.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi...they didn't count as friends. Nabiki just
used him as a means to an end. He was here, they needed money, she took
pictures of Ranma's girl half. Means to an end...Ranma was a person,
dammit! Kasumi...Kasumi was nice. Really, really nice. He actually liked
Kasumi alot. But...she was TOO nice. TOO perfect. TOO much the
traditional Japanese woman. An airhead. Aside from that, Ranma couldn't
really count her as a friend, because when he talked with her, although she
was quite smart and made him feel better, she was also...condescending. She
acted as if she had the answer to everything. She treated him like a mother
would her child. He didn't mind that at first, but as time went on, he
began to dislike it more and more. Kasumi wouldn't, no, couldn't be Ranma's
friend if she kept being like that. Akane hit him every chance she got,
which said something about how much Ranma meant to her, but that didn't
matter. What DID matter was the fact that, no matter how hard he tried to
tell Akane that he loved her, he would always do something stupid and get
hit for it. No, Akane was not a friend, nor his family. Akane was lost to
him, but because of a fault of Ranma's. That made him even angrier.
<I can't believe that! I l...l...lo...like her a lot, and every
time I try to tell her, I insult her or sumthin'! Geez! What's the big
idea, here?> Ranma hated the fact that he had a weakness. Positively
despised, actually. Weak. That's all Ranma was. Weak. And alone. No
friends, no family...well, his parents, although they didn't really make him
too pleased with the thought of family. His dad was a sniveling, honorless,
theiving cur who would rather sell his son into engagements than work an
honest day's work for some food. He HAD taught Ranma the art, though, and
he was greatful for that, but it wasn't nearly enough to make up for his
faults. His mother...well, considering his Jusenkyo curse, was kind of
strange. He didn't really know his mother all that well, despite spending a
lot of time around her as 'Ranko.' She intimidated Ranma, especially with
that katana. Not that he was afraid that she would use it on him. Oh, no,
that wasn't it at all. He was afraid that she would get mad at Genma, whip
it out in an attempt to scare him into submission, and lose her grip on it,
skewering his sleeping form or something. Kinda scary. But his mom wasn't
that much of a problem. Aside from the fact, that is, that ever since the
failed wedding attempt, when Ranma looked at her, she had this...sadness,
this...overwhelming look of depression in her eyes. And it was directed
towards Ranma. He could only guess what that meant, although he was pretty
sure that he was right. 'My son, my man among men, couldn't even get
married. Oh, how ashamed I am! I shall do everything in my power to fix
Ranma, and will not rest until he is again a man among men!'
<Dammit, mom, I'm a person! Not some broken toaster!>
No, Ranma was done in Nerima. He was tired, lonely (although he
would never admit it), angry, and depressed. So...Ranma WAS sad, then. As
well as angry. And lonely.
Ranma Saotome. The invincible man. The best martial artist in
Nerima. Lonely. Sad.
His emotions had finally been affected. His long-buried, almost
forgotten emotions had resurfaced, and had brought down a mighty temple from
the inside. Ranma was no longer the man he once was. He was broken,
dejected; he was disgusted, and he was angry.
But, most of all, he was determined. He was determined to find
happiness somewhere in this world. He was not going to give up until his
heart gave out or he found what he was looking for.
And so, he had decided to leave. He couldn't take it any more.
After packing his bags late one night, he set out into the world, a heavy
burden on his heart, and a picture of Akane in his hand.
He set out to find a place where he would fit in. A place where he
could live out his life without worrying about fiancees or enemies or
poetry-spouting swordsmen. A place...where he could be happy.
As he walked down the street, though, a rogue thought began to nag
at him. <Can you really be happy without Akane?>
He didn't know, but he was going to find out. This was a challenge,
and Ranma Saotome never backed down from a challenge.
And his journey into life began.