Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ The Anime Prom ❯ Chapter 7

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

When the singing stops, Amrae slowly opens her eyes. Her vision is blurry and her head is still pounding, but it's bearable. She shakily gets back on her feet and looks around.

Ryouga? Ryouga, where...?

She turns just in time to see his retreating form running out the door.

Ryouga! Wait for me! She rushes after him despite the lingering pain in her head.

Ryouga flings open the doors out of the gymnasium, so forcefully that one of them goes flying off of its hinges.

"They'll pay for what they did. This is all their fault," he thinks. "I think they went this way."

Ryouga walks off in a random direction, but is soon impeded by a wall.

Chucking to himself he says, "They think this wall will protect them?"

He pulls his arm back, balls a fist, a calmly strikes it with a punch. A six foot round hole suddenly appears where concrete once was. Ryouga steps through his custom made opening and continues his search.

Silently cursing the fool who invented high heels, Amrae hurries after Ryouga. She stops just outside the broken door and looks around.

*Where did he go?* She glances down one hallway and smiles to herself when she sees the hole in the wall.

My...he's stronger than I thought. Holding the slit in her skirt closed so it doesn't rip, she climbs through the hole.

Ryouga hears voices coming from down the hall. They must be hiding behind one of these doors. He starts smashing doors down, searching classrooms, and moving on.

::Finishes off the last of the pretzels::

Hey, Vinnie... Think we should head back anytime soon? I wonder if anyone else fell victim to our pretzels. ^_^

*grins*

Hey, good idea... It's getting late, too. I wonder when it'll be over

*grabs a bottle and shuffles over to the window*

Alley oop!

*hops out of the window, but falls flat on his face- easily making a good landing-cushion, though.*

Amrae continues to follow Ryouga's path of destruction, a realization finally dawning on her.

If he catches Vincent or Yuffie...this might turn ugly.

She quickens her pace to a run, praying to the Elven Spirits that she got to him before he got to them.

Suddenly she see's a figure up ahead. It's Ryouga.

Ryouga! Ryouga, calm down! She calls to him.

I got the B33...

::Falls, landing on Vincent::

Whoo. ::Shakes head:: Thanks for breaking my fall, Vinnie. ^_^

Ryouga casually destroyed another door, looking inside for the drunken vampire and the his date. This room was empty also. Ryouga felt his anger starting to grow, the frustration from his search not helping his mood. He was a couple minutes away from just launching a full shishihodokan and reducing this building to rubble. No, he can't do that. It would go against his code, hurting innocent people to satisfy his own needs. No, he wasn't like Ranma.

"Ryouga!"

Somewhat startled by the sudden voice, Ryouga looks up.

"Huh?" he says, seeing Amrae running towards him.

Amrae sighs in relief when Ryouga turns to look at her. At least she had his attention now. She finally reaches him and stops, a little out of breath.

Ryouga, just wait a minute. Calm down before you do something you'll regret later.

"Huh...Calm down?" Ryouga says as he looks down at his hands. "But...they were hurting everyone, with the singing."

Amrae touches his cheek and lifts his face so she can see his eyes.

I know what they were doing, believe me. But you don't have to destroy half the school or kill them. I know you mean well, so let's find them and deal with them together, okay?

*Vincent stands up shakily, holding Yuffie's hand*

Whoa.. nice landing... how's the b33r?

*looks at the un-spilt bottle in his hand, which happens to be rum.*

Groovy... cmon, lets go!

*Starts... walking, towards the gymnasium, looking like he'll fall over any second*

Anger is replaced by confusion at Amrae's words. At Amrae's touch, Ryouga descends into giddy laughter. His anger quickly forgotten, he simply nods his head at her.

Amrae grins and nods.

That's better. Come on, let's go have some fun with our little drunk vampire.

She turns and motions for Ryouga to follow her back down the hallway towards the gym.

Ryouga nods fiercely and starts to walk off in the opposite direction that Amrae indicated.

Ryouga! Amrae laughs slightly. THIS way. We're going back to the gym.

Ryouga laughs nervously, and starts walking in the direction that Amrae gestures in.

"The gym! Of course, hehehehehehehe," he stammers.

Staggering around the bodies laying on the floor Jehosi makes her way to the punch bowel. She looks up at Gohan frozen in the air and giggles at him

hhhhhhheeeeyyyyyy Gohan! How do yah do that! I wanna float!

Her stomach growels loudly, she places her hand on her stomach and scans the table seeing the pretzels

Wai!! FOOD!

Amrae starts back towards the gym but cries out in surprise when her shoe slides on a piece of debris and she falls backward. She hits her head on a piece of concrete and her vision goes black.

::Yuffie tosses a bottle of rum to Vincent::

One for you and one for me. ^_^

::They both stagger unsteadily back to the gym, each with a bottle in hand. Yuffie opens to door.::

Weeee're baaack!!!

Willow sits on the gym's roof, bored and stares skyward, wondering why she even bothered staying.

*Vinnie bursts in the door, hanging onto Yuffie*

Okay.... I got a great idea

*wobbles his way over to the stage, steals the mic.. and returns to the dance floor*

Testing... uno.. two.. quatre... uh.. Bob

*taps on the mic, which makes a loud thumping noise throughout the hall*

Ok... good..

*clears his throat and leans on Yuffie, looking into her eyes and singing in a voice thats clear, on-key, and all around great sounding despite his drunkenness*

Its closing time... open all the doors and let you out into the world

::Yes, Yuffie can sing. And quite well too. ^_^::

Closing Time,all of the lights on
Over every boy and every girl.
turns away from Vincent and bumps the angry DJ off the stage, grinning::

*Vincent continues to sing, the speakers carrying the harmony throughout the gymnasium*


Its closing time... You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here

::They look at each other, grinning, then sing the chorus in unison::

I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home

Take me hoooooome!

*Smiles, placing an arm on Yuffie's shoulder*

Closing time... Time for you to go out to the places you will be from

::Sways to the music::

Closing time
This room won't be open your brothers or your sisters come

*Smiles a half-drunk smile, his voice still clear and smooth*

So gather up your jackets... move it to the exits... I hope you have found a friend..

::Smiles in her least conniving and most sweet smile::

Closing Time,new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

The temporal flow of time seemed to upend itself. Ryouga watched in disbelief as Amrae slipped and began her slow descent. Her body seemed to flow as she spread out on the cool tile. It was would have been somewhat graceful were it not for the harsh crack that resulted from her head making contact with the unyielding floor. Ryouga stared dumbly for several seconds, seeing nothing buy Amrae's still body splayed out before him. Ryouga tried to take a step towards her, but his legs wouldn't obey. There was nothing he could do, what was keeping him from helping her? He tried screaming for help, but the only sound that escaped his lips was a hoarse whisper. He felt his panic starting to be replaced with the black void. Sadness, helplessness, incompetence...they were all returning.

A sound cut Ryouga out of his reverie. Singing...coming from the gym. He could barely make out the words:

Its closing time
open all the doors and let you out into the world Time,
Turn all of the lights on
Over every boy and every girl.
Its closing time... You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here

I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home
I know who I want to take me home

Take me hoooooome

Closing time... Time for you to go out to the places you will be from

Closing time
This room won't be open
Till your brothers or your sisters come

So gather up your jackets... move it to the exits...
I hope you have found a friend..
Closing Time, Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

Friends...who are friends? Could Ranma be considered a friend? No, he was more of a rival than anything. True, they could have possibly been very close at some point but Ryouga had driven away any chance of that occurring. The Tendos offered him kindness and hospitality, but more so out of pity than actual friendship. Ryouga has spent the last couple years of his life training for a mad quest. He kept to himself and focused on one thing: revenge. Was that what he really wanted though? Would he be happy once he had made Ranma pay for ruining his life? Of course, Ranma was the cause of Ryouga's suffering! He would have to pay!

"Is he, though? Is Ranma Saotome the cause of your unhappiness?"

"Of course he is. Ranma ruined my life."

"And how exactly did he do that?"

"It's because of him that I have been spent the last five years of my life in hell. Going through utter torture to make myself better than he is."

"And once you do become better than him you will be happy?"

"Yes! I will have my revenge and then I will have Akane."

"Is that what you really want?"

"Revenge or Akane?"

"Both."

"Of course, it is all I dream about..every waking moment of every day.

"And what about now? Is that what you were thinking about now? Did you dream of revenge while you were dancing with Amrae? Was it Akane that held you in her arms tonight?"

"....."

"Is Ranma really the cause of your unhappiness? Will Akane's love for P-Chan bring you happiness? Is that true friendship? You are not as alone as you think, Ryouga. Think about it."

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning end....is this a new beginning for Ryouga? He didn't really know, but he was going to find out. He couldn't pass this chance up. Is it possible that he had actually found a friend?

The shishi hodokan was a bolt of pure destruction, thriving off of Ryouga's feelings of resentment, anger, sadness, and loneliness. Ryouga, like Ranma, was a master of manipulating his chi through his feelings. Ryouga gathered the energy in his hand. This time, Ryouga used hope and a flicker of happiness to fuel the chi. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, causing his bandana to get sticky with perspiration. His body began to shake from the strain. He couldn't do it. He was going to fail, just like he always did. The familiar darkness began to descend over his mind, as he began to lower his arm in defeat.

"No! You can do it. Don't give up Ryouga, you are capable of happiness. Believe in yourself, she still does."

Yes. I can do it. I will do it! Gathering up the last bit of his willpower, Ryouga drew the chi into a small white ball. With a scream, he cast the ball at Amrae's still form. Instead of blasting Amrae to oblivion, the chi began to weave across her body, cleansing her body and mind. Unlike the shishi hodokan, this chi blast was one of healing instead of destruction. Utterly exhausted from the effort, Ryouga cradled Amrae's body close to him, praying that he wasn't too late. He was rewarded with a small groan that escaped her lips.

Amrae feels the hot energy surge through her body like blood in her veins. She groans quietly at the disspersing pain in her head and her eyes flutter open. At first all she can see is an indistinct blurr, but as her vision focuses she sees Ryouga's stressed face not inches from her own. She remembers suddenly that she had fallen and she must have hit her head. Now Ryouga was holding her and she could hear his breath coming in short gasps. Sweat was trickling down his face.

What...how She tries to sit up but she's very weak. *If I fell...why do I feel no pain?* Looking up into his eyes, she sees relief and a flicker of...something else in those dark depths. Then she knew exactly what he'd done.

She smiles faintly. Thank you, Ryouga. What else could she say?

Feelings of relief mixed with something else fill Ryouga. Could it be happiness?

"It was no trouble. How do you feel? Can you stand?"

I don't know...I can try. Amrae allows Ryouga to help her to her feet, but she's unsteady. She leans against his chest and he grips her arms. I can stand, but I'm afraid walking is a bit too much to ask right now.

Swaying to Yuffie and Vincent's singing Jehosi grabs a handful of purple glowing pretzels and eats some. She burps out purple bubbles

Weeee! Bubbles!

Grabbing another handful she looks around.

I wonder where Amrea and Ryouga are...They'd get a kick outta these pretzels! They make you burp bubbles! Hehe

"Oh..uh...I can..um...carry you back...if that's OK with you."

Ryouga nervously catches Amrae's legs, lifting her off of the ground. His grip is strong, yet gentle. Being careful not to rock her in her injured state, Ryouga slowly walks back towards the gym

Amrae's surprised at first when Ryouga literally sweeps her off her feet, but his strong arms support her and she relaxes against him. Draping her arms around his neck, she rests her head against his shoulder as he starts walking.

*I can't believe this. He practically just saved my life and now he's carrying me too. I know he's almost exhausted from using that much energy to "heal" me...and yet he doesn't seem to notice. Why is he doing all of this for me?*

She glances up at his face and sees the sweat soaking his bandana.

Ryouga, you don't have to do this. You've got to be drained from using all that chi....really, you don't have to worry about me. I can manage. *I think*

"Oh, I'm OK. That chi blast is nothing compared to what Ranma and I usually throw at each other," he says while laughing softly.

"This is your prom or something..right? You're supposed to be able to enjoy it," he states, opening the door to the gym. Wading through the sea of people listening intently to the singing, Ryouga carries Amrae over to a table and sets her gently into a chair.

Seeing Ryouga and Amrea come in the gym Jehosi waves to them. She grabs the bowel of pretzels and grabs the floating Gohan and pulls him along like a balloon, walking over to the table

Hey guys! LOOK! Purple pretzels!

She hiccups and more purple bubbles come out

Amrae reluctantly releases her hold on Ryouga's neck as he sets her down.

Ah...I can't really say how much I'm grateful. She blushes and brushes the stray strands of auburn hair out of her face. She stops and listens to the song for a moment before looking back at Ryouga. Tell me something, Ryouga. Why

She's interrupted when Jehosi runs over with a bowl of pretzels.

You guy's should have some there

She stops in mid sentence seeing daggers forming in Amrea's eyes.

Eeep! Sorry. I'm gone! Comon Gohan-Kun let's go.

Setting the bowl of pretzels onto the table she tugs on Gohan and pulls him away from the table, throwin Amrea an all knowing smile and a wink before walking away to the other side of the gym

Let's go see if Videl is still alive and you can dance with her Gohan-Kun.

Amrae rolls her eyes as Jehosi walks away. Turning back to Ryouga, she sighes.

Sorry about her. She's...well, she's just Jehosi.

The courage she had built up to ask the question is gone now, so she pretends she never said anything. She looks back to the stage where Vincent and Yuffie are still singing.

They're quite good for drunk idiots.

Finally finding Videl Jehosi hands Gohan to her

What the hell happened to him!?

Jehosi only shrugs and walks away

Now, I wonder where Cloud is...hehehehe

Ryouga pulls up a chair and sits down next to Amrae. He eyes some of the pretzels that Jehoshi handed to Amrae and decides that he'd rather eat more of Akane's cooking before trying any of them.

"It's no problem. She kind of reminds me of someone I know in Nerima."

Nerima...Ryouga suddenly remembered that he was looking for Ryouga earlier. That didn't really matter now. As far as Ryouga was concerned, he wouldn't mind if he never found it again.

Turning his attention to the singing, "Yeah, they aren't bad. Kind of makes me glad that I didn't kill them earlier," he says while forcing a laugh at his joke.

Vincent and Yuffie seem to be off in their own world as they sing, hanging onto each other due to drunkenness or something else. They sing in unison, their voices mixing with a strange harmony, that's both sweet and soothing to the ears...


I know who I want to take me home...

I know who I want to take me home...

I know who I want to take me home...

Take me ho-o-o-ome

Ryouga watched the pair singing. Off handedly, he noticed that there seemed to be a connection between the vampire and the kunoichi. Their singing seemed to meld and flow as one voice, each adding strength to the other. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who found special meaning with the song.

"Not bad for a bunch of drunken fools, huh?" he commented.