From: skeezy5 skeezy5@mit.edu
Subject: [Ranma][FanFic] Birthdays - Ryouga


Michael Won skeezy5@oocities.com
=======================

Birthdays - Ryouga
	by skeezy5

=======================

Ranma 1 / 2 etc. all belong to Rumiko Takahashi...

=======================

	 A solitary snowflake descended from the sky in its chaotic dance.  
It spun about in circles, leapt from point to point, and navigated the 
currents of air as skillfully as a trout up a stream.  A final gust of 
wind brought the snowflake to a gentle rest upon Ryouga's hand.  
	He looked up.  
	As if the landing of the first snowflake had signaled the 
beginning of a race, the sky was filled with contesting snowflakes, each 
trying to outdo the others in their chaotic dance.  *Snow on my 
birthday.  At least the heavens have remembered.*
	Ryouga picked up his pace, deciding that it would be a good idea 
to reach shelter before the dark clouds caught up with him any further.  
Though he tried to keep his attention on the road in front of him, he 
soon turned away, unable to look at it much longer.  
	He had always found it interesting how a road looked like it had 
an end, a place where it finished off.  But if you squinted a bit 
harder, looked a bit further, you always saw that the road kept on 
going, that your goal was never in sight.  What looked to be finite, 
what should have been finite, became infinite the more and more you 
studied it... 
	Ryouga found it much more comforting to gaze at the sky, which he 
at least expected to be endless, or at the ground, which was familiar 
and solid beneath his feet.  Of course, that made following the road a 
bit difficult at times, but...
	Birthdays.  Birthdays were always a lonely time for him.  Though 
they had all made a special effort to try to be there for each other on 
special days, he had only celebrated his birthday four times with his 
parents, and never with both of them at once...  In fact, it was a full 
four years ago that he'd had his last birthday party...

^_^

	"Hey Ranma!"  Ryouga ran after him as quickly as he could, not 
wanting to lose sight of him.  Though the final bell had rung only a 
minute ago, Ranma was already at the school gates.  He turned to glance 
at Ryouga, then with that famous smirk, picked up his pace.
	"Argh!  Wait until I get my hands on you, Ranma!"  Ryouga jumped
over the wall in an effort to cut off Ranma, only to discover that Ranma
had reversed directions and was heading back the other way.  "Ranma!  
Wait!"
	Ryouga quickly lost track of where they were, concentrating only 
on catching up with Ranma.  Slowly, he closed the gap, inch by inch, 
until Ranma was merely an arm's length away.  Making up his mind, Ryouga
jumped forward to tackle Ranma, only to see Ranma ascend out of his 
grip.
	"Ooh.  That's gotta hurt."  Ranma sat on top of the wall he had 
jumped on to, watching as Ryouga extracted his head from the hole that
he had made in the wall.  "You should watch where you're going."
	"Damn you!  If you'd only waited like I told you to, none of this
would've happened.  It's all your fault, Ranma!"  Ryouga shook his head,
getting some of the concrete out of his hair.  "I'd beat you to a pulp,
but I need your help getting home."
	"In case you haven't noticed, that's where we are, Ryouga."  
Ryouga finally looked up to realize that the wall he had made a hole in
belonged to his own house.  Much to Ranma's surprise, instead of 
attacking him, Ryouga suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him along 
into the house.  "Come on, hurry up!"
	"What the heck is this all about?"
	"Tadaima!  Mom?  Dad?  Anybody?"  Ryouga's excitement quickly 
withered away as he realized that nobody was home.  Finally getting to 
the kitchen, he picked up a note and read it.

	Dear Ryouga,
		Your mother and I are going to the movies.  
	We'll try to be back by your birthday.  
							Love, Dad

	It was dated a month ago, which meant that in all likelihood, 
Ryouga wouldn't see his parents for another month or so.  He plopped 
down on a chair at the kitchen table and buried his head in his arms.
*Another birthday alone...*
	"Yo, Ryouga!  What's wrong?  Why are you so down?"
	"Go away, Ranma."
	"Aww, come on, man.  I brought you all the way home.  Don't I 
at least get to know what all the fuss was about?"  Ranma poked Ryouga
in the side, trying to prompt a reaction.
	"Go away."
	"Hey, whatcha gonna do?  Cry your eyes out?"  Ranma took a mocking
tone, knowing that it guaranteed a reaction out of Ryouga.
	"It's my birthday, okay?!  And my parents aren't here!  Now leave 
me alone."  Ryouga yelled and then buried his head again, expecting 
Ranma to make fun of him.
	A few moments later, he was filled with surprise to hear the 
softness in Ranma's voice.  "Then why didn't you say so?  Come on, let's 
celebrate!"
	With that, Ranma grabbed Ryouga by the arm and dragged him out of 
the house.  Ranma practically carried him down the street and finally 
came to a stop in front of where Ranma and his father lived.
	"Ranma, what are we doing here?"  Ryouga asked with an annoyed 
tone, as Ranma peeked through the door to his house.
	"Shh...  I'm making sure Pop's not around."  Assured that nobody
else was in the house, Ranma opened the door and dragged Ryouga in.  He
quickly led him to small practice room in the back.  With a 
conspiratorial wink, Ranma pulled up a loose board and pulled out a wad
of money.
	"Wow!  What's all that money?"  Ryouga's eyes grew wide, never 
having seen that much money at once.
	"Shh!  Its Pop's stash."  Ranma counted out a few bills and put 
the wad back underneath.  "We'll just be borrowing a bit of it."
	"Won't he be angry when he finds out?"
	"Well, then we won't be here when he does!  Come on, let's go!"
	"Go where?"  The lost boy looked on in confusion.
	"You are so dense Ryouga.  Its your birthday, let's go celebrate."
Ignoring Ryouga's protestations, Ranma grabbed him again and pulled him 
out of the house.  Cutting across town over the roofs, Ranma quickly got 
them to the traveling carnival which was in town.  "Come on, Ryouga!  I 
heard this place was fun!"
	"Uhh... Okay."
	"Hey mister!  Two adolescents for admission."  Ranma tapped his
foot impatiently as the cashier gave him his change.  He carefully 
counted it before stuffing it back in his pocket and said, "Come on,
Ryouga!  Don't lose sight of me!"
	The two boys ran into the carnival, eyes wide in wonder.  There 
were dozens of rides, shows, game booths, food stands, and even more.
Squealing like children half their age, the two of them tackled the
carnival, starting at one end and working their way across.  They 
quickly found themselves on the main attraction of the carnival, a
huge rollercoaster.
	As the rollercoaster thundered through a loop, Ryouga yelled,
"Ranma!  This ride is awesome!"
	"Yeah!  I never knew it was this great!"  Ranma yelled back as 
they coasted through a cork-screw.
	"Really?  Why didn't you try the ride before?"
	"Eh, didn't want to."  Ranma shuddered slightly, remembering the
thrashing Genma had given him the last time he had stolen some money.

^_^

	Breaking out of his thoughts, Ryouga looked to see that he had 
come to a bridge.  *Bridge?  I don't remember there being this wide
a river in the Sahara.*
	Ryouga brushed some of the snow off his hair and stepped on to the 
bridge.  He walked, lost in his memories, glad that at least the chances
of his getting lost on the narrow bridge were...  less than the usual.
It wasn't until he glanced at the sign marking the middle of the bridge,
that he snapped out of his reverie.  
	*Damn, this is a long bridge.  Oh well, at least the second half 
is shorter than the first.*  Though Ryouga knew that to be untrue, it
came from a folk-tale that he had been very fond of as a child.  The 
story was about the Bridge to Hell.  
	The Bridge to Hell was supposed to be a gargantuan structure, with 
a traveler being able to barely see the other end.  In the middle of 
that bridge stood an Angel set there by Heaven.  She warned those who 
passed by, that they had reached the center of the Bridge to Hell.  Some 
would turn back, but others would venture forth a bit more, curious to 
see what Hell was like.  The story said that the second half of the 
bridge was much shorter than the first, and that people often found 
themselves in Hell and unable to leave.
	The story was supposed to be a warning, of course.  The Bridge to
Hell represented the path of darkness.  It was a warning that hatred,
selfishness, despair, and anger would slowly suck you into a downward 
spiral which would end up pulling you down faster and faster.  After 
passing a certain point, your descent would accelerate even more, and by 
the time you saw the demon that you had become, it would be too late. 
	Ryouga stopped when he reached the sign.  But how was one supposed
to know which side was Hell and which side wasn't?  What if you were 
trying to leave Hell?  Would you turn back at the half-way point, 
fearful of the unknown on the other side?  What if Paradise awaited for 
those who got there?  How would you know until you crossed?
	How were you to know that one direction was filled with the poison
of hatred, while the other direction was filled with righteous 
vengeance?  How were you to know that one direction was filled with lust 
and desire, while the other direction was filled with love and 
selflessness?
	Ryouga added a thought with a smile.  *Perhaps one could ask the 
Angel?  Then again, I'd probably go the wrong way from which she told
me to go.*

^_^

	"Oh, wow!  Look at that!"  The two boys peered through the window 
of the shop to look at the new ZZ-Gundam model.  It was twice as large
as any of the other ones, and created only as a limited edition.  The
price tag reflected this.  
	"I wish I could have that..."  Ryouga muttered, resigned by the
astronomical price.  Ranma counted out the money he had left carefully
and saw that he didn't even have half of what it would cost to buy it.
	"Hey, Ryouga."  A quick plan was formulating in Ranma's mind.
	"What?"
	"You want that?"  Ryouga's heart soared at Ranma's question, but 
he tried his best to suppress it.
	"Yeah.  But you couldn't buy that for me, it's too expensive."
	"I agree." 
	"So, why'd you ask, then?"  The resignation entered Ryouga's 
voice again.
	"Let's steal it."
	"What?!"  
	"Come on.  Go distract the owner with questions.  I'll grab the
thing and run out.  If the owner chases me, I'll lose him.  Just sit 
tight for a while, then come out here.  I'll meet you in... half an 
hour.  Tops."
	"Ranma... I don't know if this is a good idea..."  Ryouga was
really nervous, never having stolen anything in his life.
	"Ryouga.  Do you want that model?"  
	"Yes..."  
	"Then let's go."  Ranma boldly entered through the door to the
shop, and Ryouga was left with no choice but to follow.  As if browsing
for something to buy, Ranma went from display to display, humming and
hawing.  Ryouga stood in the doorway, his feet rooted, not sure of what
to do.  Finally, Ranma shot him an annoyed look that got Ryouga moving.
	"Umm, excuse me..."  Ryouga walked up to the counter.  A mountain
of a woman was behind it, rearranging one of the shelves.  
	"Yes?"  The owner turned around and looked at Ryouga.  Though 
Ryouga was tall for a fourteen year old, this woman towered above him
by at least two heads.  
	"Uhh...  Uhh... Umm... That is...  ahh..."  In a coordinated 
attempt to distract the owner and steal something, it is necessary that
the decoy be a fast talker.  Unfortunately for Ranma and Ryouga, Ryouga
was not a fast talker.  Furthermore, Ranma had chosen the exact moment
that the woman had turned around to grab the ZZ-Gundam model.
	"Oh crap!  Ranma, run!"  As Ryouga spun about to break for an
escape himself, he felt a massive hand grab him by the scruff of his
neck.  *Oh god!  She's going to kill me!  She's going to kill me!*
	"So you little pipsqueaks.  Try to steal from MY store, did you?"
	Ranma had started to dash out of the store but had stopped, seeing
that Ryouga was caught.  "Hey lady, its not his fault.  I wanted to 
steal it and made him come with me.  You can thrash me all you want, but
let him go."
	"No, no, no.  Its my birthday, and I just wanted that model 
really, really badly.  Its all my fault.  Don't hurt him!"  Ryouga
cursed inwardly, wanting to yell at Ranma to run away.  "My parents 
aren't home right now, but they can pay when they get back!"
	"Oh?"  The woman seemed amused by this.  "Okay, I'll let one of 
you go.  You guys can choose."
	"Let him go!"  Ryouga pleaded.
	"No!  Let him go!"  Ranma's hand clamped down on Ryouga's mouth.  
"Look, Ryouga, if you stay, I'm going to stay also, so you might as well 
go."
	The woman let go of her grip on Ryouga's neck and studied the two
boys for a few seconds.  "Is it really your birthday?"
	"Ye... yeah."  Ryouga squeaked out.
	The woman looked at them for a few more moments, and then smiled.
"If you guys will stick up for each other that much, you can't be that
bad of kids...  All right, since its your birthday, I'm letting you and
your friend go."
	"Re... really?"
	"Yeah, now get out before I change my mind!"  The two boys bolted
out the door like a pair of deer.

^_^

	Ryouga smiled as he turned away from looking at the water. He was 
about to begin his journey across the second half of the bridge, but his
feet came to a halt when he heard a familiar voice cry out, "Ryouga-
sama!"
	*Akari-chan*  Ryouga turned around and saw the world's number one 
pig lover running across the bridge towards him.
	"Ryouga-sama!  It is you!  I'm so happy!"  Dropping the bags 
that she was carrying, Akari quickly enfolded Ryouga in her arms and 
held him, almost sobbing into his shoulder.  Her muffled voice 
whispered, "Its been so long since I've seen you."
	"Akari-chan, what are you doing in the Sahara?"  Ryouga scratched
the back of his head.  Wasn't he in Africa?
	"The Sahara?  Oh Ryouga-sama, you're just so funny!"  The smile 
that was on her face created a warm glow in the chilly winter air.  
"Oh, I'm so glad I found you.  I thought my eyes were tricking me when
I saw you standing here, in the middle of the bridge.  I was just on my
way back home..."
	Akari's home.  That meant that once he crossed this bridge and
followed the highway for another hour, he would arrive at the outskirts
or Tokyo.  From there, it was but a two hour walk to Akane's home.
	"I was looking for you all day!  Ranma had called...  Oh my!  The 
cake!"  Akari's face assumed a mask of terror as she turned around and
began looking through one of the bags she had dropped.  When she opened 
a box, her eyes filled with tears as she realized that the cake was 
ruined.  "Oh, Ryouga-sama, I'm so sorry.  I just ruined your cake."
	"My cake?"  Ryouga kneeled down next to her, looking at the 
lopsided chocolate cake.  Uncertainly, he put his arm around Akari as
she cried.
	"Yes.  I got one just in case you showed up at my place.  Ranma 
had a surprise party planned for you at the Tendo Dojo, but...  Oops, I 
shouldn't have mentioned that..."  Akari's face was filled with horror.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just ruined the surprise!"  

^_^

	Ryouga was quickly growing impatient waiting for Ranma.  Half an
hour ago the idiot had left Ryouga at his house and told him to wait,
saying he'd come back with a surprise.  "Stupid Ranma.  He probably
got lost or something."
	"Aren't you talking about yourself, Ryouga?"
	"What?"  Ryouga whirled about to see a slightly battered Ranma.
	"I left you in your room.  What are you doing in the kitchen?"
	"I was looking for the bathroom, okay?!"  Ryouga grimaced, but
was glad that he had at least found the bathroom before getting lost.
"What the heck happened to you?"
	"Eh, I got in a fight with those bullies at the highschool.
Showed them, I did."  Ranma puffed up with pride, but from the welts
on his skin, it was obvious he hadn't had an easy time.  Ryouga's
eyes narrowed in suspicion that Ranma hadn't been able to beat them
easily.
	"Why'd you get so bruised up then?"
	"Oh, I was trying to protect this."  Ranma pulled out a crushed
box from behind his back.  He sheepishly added, "I guess it doesn't 
matter, your cake got ruined...  I'm sorry Ryouga."
	Ryouga stared at the chocolate cake that had been destroyed.
Slowly, his body began to shake a bit.  "You got beaten up for my
cake?"
	"Hey!  Who said I got beaten up?  Those three guys aren't going
to be bullying anyone for a while!"  Ranma lowered his voice.  "I'm 
sorry I ruined your cake, Ryouga.  Hope you're not mad or nothin'." 
	"Ranma..."  Ryouga choked, trying to hold back the tears.  
	"Hey, come on, its nothing to cry about!  Come on, I think I 
have enough money left.  I'll get you another cake."  As Ranma turned,
Ryouga grabbed his hand.
	"No, Ranma.  I don't need another cake.  You got beaten up trying
to protect my cake..."  Tears were openly streaming down Ryouga's face
at this point, but he didn't care.  "Oh, Ranma!  This has been the best
birthday I've ever had!"
	"Hey, come on, don't get all mushy."  Ranma was embarrassed as 
Ryouga fiercely hugged him, but looking to make sure that nobody was
watching, returned the hug.  "Come on, let's have the cake."
	"Huh?"
	"Aww, who cares if its kinda smushed.  It'll still taste good!
Come on, its chocolate, your favorite!"  Ranma was about to grab a bit,
but then stopped himself.  "Oops, can't forget the candles!"
	Ranma dug around the box a bit and came up with a few candles.
He quickly plunged them into the cake and lit them.  "Hurry up, Ryouga!
If you blow all of them out, you get a wish!"
	Ryouga looked at Ranma with his tear filled eyes, and then turned
to the cake.  *Yes, that's the wish I want.*  With that, he closed his
eyes and blew.
	"Yeah!  Nice, Ryouga!"  Ryouga peeled his eyes open to see that 
all the candles were out.  Ranma cut the cake as best as he could and
the two of them dove into it.  They probably set the world record for 
finishing a cake that evening.  After licking the last of the icing off
his fingers, Ranma asked, "Hey Ryouga, whaddya wish for?"
	"Huh?  Oh.  Nothing much."
	"Aww, come on, tell me!"
	"Okay, fine.  I wished that..."

^_^

	*Ranma and Ryouga, best friends forever.*  Ryouga's mind reeled.
*What have I become?*
	"I'm sorry Ryouga-sama, I've ruined everything for you today."  
Ryouga snapped back to reality and looked at the weeping girl that was
standing in front of him.
	*I need to go apologize to Ranma.  I need to say sorry for all 
the things I've done...  What kind of a man am I that I would try to
hurt my best friend?  But Akane...  What about Akane?  But Ranma...*
Ryouga was torn, split between love and friendship.  *I need to get
there first, though.  I'll make up my mind once I get there!  But how...  
Akari!  Akari can lead me there without getting us lost!*
	"Akari-chan."  Ryouga said as he put his hands on her shoulders.
	"Yes, Ryouga-sama?"  She looked up, almost fearfully.
	"Don't worry about the cake.  It's okay."
	"Oh, Ryouga-sama..."  The girl buried her head in his chest.  
Ryouga couldn't help but notice how small and helpless she seemed in his 
arms.
	"I... Uh...  You said Ranma had called you?"
	"Yes.  They're all waiting for you at the Tendo Dojo."  Even to
Ryouga, one of the denser people in the world, the disappointment in
Akari's voice at his question was obvious.
	"I..."  
	"I can take you there, Ryouga-sama, if that's what you really
want."  Akari looked away from him, not wanting to hear him say it.
	*How can this girl care so much for me?  How can she put my 
desires before every thing she wants?  Before her love?  She truly is 
an...*  At that point, Ryouga knew what he had to do.  "I guess they'll 
just have to wait a while before they see me, then.  A long while."
	Though Ryouga had been uncertain saying that, the joy that filled 
Akari's eyes told him that he had done the right thing.  He bent down 
and scooped up Akari's bags.  "Come on, let's go to your house and have 
this cake."
	"But..."
	"Aww, who cares if its kinda smushed.  It'll still taste good!
Come on, its chocolate, my favorite!"
	"Oh Ryouga-sama...  I... I..."  Akari was crying again, but this 
time in tears of joy.  The two of them walked back down the bridge in 
the direction they had come from.  Though Ryouga still did not know what 
was on the other side, he realized that he didn't care.  He took his 
Angel's hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

=======================
[Author's Notes]

Mmm...  Okay, for those of you who think Ryouga's OOC, he's not.  By
the end of the series, he's a lot less angry, IMO.  For those of you
who think he's too introspective, I think you should give him more
credit.  After all, if I walked around that much, I'd be like that.
(Oh wait, I already am...)

Anyway, I thought this up while running.  For those of you who live
in Boston, I was doing Bridge Loops and hating it.  The Bridge to
Hell is an inside joke for MITers.  That's right.  THAT bridge.
(Can somebody say "Tech is Hell"?)  ^_^

Anyway, some of my pre-readers thought this should have a super-sappy
ending.  So did I, but I held myself back.  This is the story of 
Ryouga's realtionship to Ranma.  I bring closure to the Ryouga-Akari
relationship, but that's not the focus.  

Thanks for reading.  If you like my "Birthdays" stuff, I've got 5
more or so planned.  I'm not sure which will be next, but I've got
two great candidates...