Ryouga's Valentine's Day
By Kelvin "Lynch" Lee
It was a depressing day, the most depressing of days..... Valentine's day, a day for couples, a day which people spend with their significant others; society does not even show mercy to those who have none. Usually people who are alone on this day have nothing left but to either feel sorry for themselves or wallow in depression.
�Guess which Ryouga was doing?
"I hate this day!" said Ryouga to himself as he trudged on through the town, where everything seemed to show a decoration commemorating the celebration of this special day, this.... Valentine's day.
Ryouga sighed to himself as he tried to ignore all the decorations around him, the sight of all the sickening red hearts, of all the cupid drawings, all the fluff and pomp which only served to remind him of his lack of a significant other, his lack of a loved one.
�Sure he loved someone, but that didn't count, because he knew that she didn't love him back. For her, he may as well not even exist, except as a little black pig.
A little black pig.... the thought of his curse depressed him even more. He knew Ranma was the cause of this, he had said so many times, tried to kill him and beat him and tried to destroy the engagement between the two, between Ranma and Akane. He had failed all those times.
He had sworn to continue, to fight on for his loved one, throughout everything he had done for her sake, thinking that Akane didn't want Ranma, that she hated him. How wrong he was.
She loved him, he knew that now. He knew, and still he could do nothing, he still loved Akane, despite the fact that she loved Ranma, his opponent, his enemy, his rival.
Yet, he couldn't really bring himself to hate Ranma, that was the funny part. Throughout everything they had done to each other, all the fights, the insults and the adventures, they had actually formed a kinship. A bond as only fellow competing warriors could. Yes, they were rivals, but they were also friends.
Oh, he had hated Ranma before, especially after the curse, but over the time he had known him, he had realized that, through it all, Ranma actually thought of him as a friend. An honorable friend. And that had changed him, changed him from the psychotic fighter intent on revenge, into a friend and rival. Life could be funny sometimes.
And life was even funnier now, the girl he loved was in love with the very same rival he could not bring himself to hate. Oh, he wanted to hate Ranma, God knows, he should, but he just can't. He just can't. And because of this, he avoided them now, both Akane, his love, and Ranma, his rival and friend.
And so here he was, all alone and lost on Valentine's day. With nearly everyone around him seemingly celebrating this accursed holiday. All he could see around him, aside from the many valentine decorations, were couples, strolling together, cuddled up or all over each other. This only served to drive home the fact that he was alone, all alone, with no one to love him, no one who cared, no one to make him feel special. Nothing.
"With my luck....." thought Ryouga "Ranma and Akane are probably together right now, enjoying each other's company." Ah, how he hated this, this day, this life of his, everything, he hated everything.
He kept walking.
When he finally looked up from his wanderings, he noticed that, for one of the few times in his life, the place he was in actually looked familiar.
Hmm, Where was he?? How could this place look and seem so familiar and so comfortable at the same time?
It wasn't the Tendo Dojo, because if it was, Aka- some people he knew would be there.
So where was he??
The house looked very, very familiar, the big door, the lamp post beside the house, Mt. Fuji kind of near it, in the background,
Eh? What's this, a note on the door?
Let's see.....
Dear Ryouga, if you are reading this, you actually made it home! This is our house, the Hibiki residence, and only a Hibiki can get inside this house! Congratulations on making it home!! There's some food and refreshments in the fridge so help yourself, we should be home sometime soon.
� Love,
Mom and Dad
Home?
He was home!
His home, his own house!
No wonder this place looked familiar!
Well, somewhat familiar, a lot of things have changed since he was last here.
Now when was that? Hmmm.
No, don't want to think about that.
Let's see, how to open the door.
With that thought, Ryouga grasped the door handle and noticed that the door was unbelievably heavy, even for him. He could barely open it up, and even then it took several tries.
No wonder mom said that only a Hibiki could get in, thought Ryouga, as he remembered how nearly every member of his family had his strength. Now that he thought about it, Ryouga was one of the weaker ones, the strongest among their clan being his cousin who once wrecked Tokyo Tower by accident.
Chuckling at the memory of that incident, Ryouga also remembered some of the other members of his far-flung family; from his mom, who loved to cook, to his dad, who was an insurance salesman all over the world, to another of his cousins, Dan, who liked the color pink and was a pathetic fighter.
Ryouga got inside the house, and noticed that it was rather dusty. Evidently, his parents have been gone for a while.
Looking around, Ryouga saw even more things that kind of jogged his memory.
That painting, he made that back when he was three. Until now, he still thought it was ugly, it had been the first gift he gave to his mom, and so she had it framed and placed in the living room, for everyone to see. Or for anyone who managed to get here anyway.
Then there was the table with the big dent when he had banged his head on it when he was seven. He hadn't cried because of hitting the table, but he had cried when his dad spanked him for ruining it. Dad sure knew how to use an umbrella, thought Ryouga idly.
Seeing as how dusty and stuffy the place was, Ryouga decided to open a window to get some fresh air. When he did, something caught his eye.
�He sat down, and just stared, looking at the view that the window presented to him. A nice normal view, one could see the backyard from this window, bushes, some trees, lots of grass, the bright sun in the background. And let's not forget the couple strolling down slowly, hand in hand.
For some unknown reason, something about this particular couple caught his interest. They seemed different. They weren't like all the other couples he had seen earlier, who had mostly seemed to be together only to show others that they weren't alone on Valentine's. They weren't even pawing each other in public. They were just together.
No, something about this couple seemed very different. There was a feeling of contentment between them. As if their being together was all both of them wanted, and that they didn't care that this was Valentines. All that mattered to them was that they were together.
The guy looked wishy-washy, not quite handsome, but passable, and he looked to be totally devoted to the girl beside him. He wasn't strutting around like most other guys with girlfriends would.
And the girl, she was very beautiful, breathtaking in fact, with long lustrous black hair that seemed to shine and highlight her lovely face. And she had the same look of contentment on her that the fellow did.
They were just walking slowly, basking in each other's company, practically oblivious to the world. They didn't even notice Ryouga, who was pretty much staring at them.
Seeing the girl so happy, Ryouga began thinking about Akane, something he didn't want to do, but which he did anyway.
Ryouga was thinking: Now why can't I have a relationship like that? Why can't I have Akane?
As the couple strolled out of sight, Ryouga began to lose the good mood he was in, and slowly regained the depression which had been plaguing him earlier.
Stupid Valentine's day! Stupid, stupid valentine's day.
Ryouga continued to just sit there, looking out the window, staring at nothing in particular now. Lost in his own depressing thoughts. To him, the world was now a dark and lonely place.
Time passed.
The sun set.
Night fell.
Ryouga didn't stir, just continued to sit there, looking out the window. Getting more and more depressed. Soon, the dark and lonely thoughts running around his head began to cause energy to channel around his body. His chi began to energize, flowing through and around his form. Ryouga didn't even notice this.
The chi continued to flow unabated, building up to a crescendo. Ryouga was glowing brightly now, the light alarming some passers-by of the house. The effects of this one would be great indeed. At the seeming climax of the chi output, just as Ryouga felt like he would explode in a fiery blast of death and destruction, the phone rang.
RIINNNGGG!!!!!
Ryouga blinked at this.
"Huh?" No one ever called this place, there was usually no one around to answer it.
Shrugging, which caused some stray mini energy blasts to spark off his broad shoulders and scorch the sofa, Ryouga got up and walked towards the phone, which was in plain sight. Never wondering why it was so bright even though it was night already.
He picked up the receiver, and put it hesitantly to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Ryouga?"
"Akane?"
"Happy Valentine's day Ryouga!"
Suddenly, all was right with the world.
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Author's Notes: A little fic based a bit on what happened to me on Valentine's. Hope you liked it. If you did, or did not, tell me at [email protected]! This is dedicated to a good friend of mine, to Cheryl, may you find someone who loves you and will take care of you. Take care, and know that I will always be here for you.
