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Clogged Sink Press Presents:

The Crow/Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction:


                             As the Crow Flies


By Plunger

      All characters copyright of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan Inc. and
              Viz Communications, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah...
      The Crow is copyright of James O'Barr or whoever else owns it...  
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[Story begins...]

[Chapter #4 Aftermath]

Akane stared vacantly at Ranma's lifeless body. He stared sightlessly up at
her as she held him in her arms. She bowed her head and began to cry 
uncontrolably. The tears ran unheeded down her face as an incredible pain of
anguish welled up inside her. She raised her head cried out in rage and 
sorrow.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The tears rained down for long minutes as she sobbed and cradled her fiancee
in her arms. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Kasumi came over and
gently began to pull Akane away. "Come, Akane... You have to let go... You 
can't do anything more for him..."

Akane resisted, refusing to let go of Ranma. 

Nabiki came over and crouched down next to Akane, "Come on, Akane... Let's go
inside... Otousan and Saotome-ojisan can sort this out..."

Akane looked blankly up at her sisters. They stared in surprise at Akane's
expression. It was angry. Very angry.

"You want me to just get up and go like that?! What about Ranma?! He's gone!
He died saving me! And you want me to just leave him!?" she shouted.

Nabiki stepped back, "But-"

Akane glared at her sister, "I love him! We were going to get married!"

Souun stared for a moment and then burst into tears, "Oh, woe! To be so near 
and yet to far!"

Nabiki crouched down again and put her hand on Akane's shoudler, "I'm sorry...
I didn't realise you guys were so serious..."

Akane bowed her head, "It's okay... It was a secret... We didn't want to tell
anyone yet..."

Kasumi offered her hand, which Akane accepted and stood up. "Come with me,
Akane... We'll make some tea..." Akane walked off with Kasumi as Genma and 
Souun slowly walked over to the body. Genma crouched down and closed his 
son's eyes.

"What have we done here, Tendou?" Genma murmured.

Souun, between sobs, said, "We tried our best, Saotome-kun... I think we 
succeeded...in part... Your son and my daughter were together... He died for
her... At least they admitted their feelings... Oh! If only they could have 
been married!"

"What good would that have done?!" Genma muttered sourly, "If they had been
married, she'd be a widow now!"

Souun began to blubber uncontrolably and Genma sighed and lead his old friend
back to the house. "We'd better call someone..." he added as they walked away.

The following days passed quickly for Akane. So much so that she barely had 
time to stop and feel any grief. Nonetheless, everything she looked at 
reminded her of Ranma and of the fleeting moments of happiness they had spent
together before he had died. She cried almost constantly, often until she was 
so tired she could barely even think, let alone move. 

All around her, her family tried to console her, but ultimately, no-one could
understand what it felt like to lose the most important thing in her life. The
pain of losing Ranma was even more wrenching than the loss of her mother. This 
was something that surprised her a great deal. Ranma meant more to her than 
her own mother, and that amplified the pain tenfold and tinged it with guilt.

Ranma's mother arrived the day after Ranma's murder and immediately began to
console Akane. 

"Akane-chan..." Nodoka began, stepping quietly into Akane's room.

Akane did not speak, nor did she look up. She had been dreading this moment 
from the moment she had realised Ranma was dead. After a long moment of 
wrestling with herself, she looked up. "Hello, Saotome-obasama..." she said
weakly.

Nodoka came over and sat down next to Akane on the bed. They sat in silence
for a time before Nodoka spoke. "I hear you and Ranma-kun finally got over 
your differences..."

Akane started, that was not what she had expected. She stumbled for words,
feeling suddenly lost, "Er... Yes... He... He came to my room two nights ago
and he told me..." She paused to take an deep breath and added, "He told me 
that he loved me and...he...he asked me to marry him..." She barely managed 
to get the words out before she began crying again. Nodoka pulled Akane 
against her as she choked uncontrolably with grief.

"There now, Akane-chan... You should be happy..." Nodoka said, causing Akane
to look up. "Ranma said he loved you. He wanted to marry you. Isn't that what
you wanted all along?"

Akane stared in confusion, but nodded weakly.

"So..." Nodoka went on, "You should be happy that you were able to at least
admit you loved each other... Even if it was for such a short time... Love,
no matter how fleeting, is always precious... You should treasure it and 
know that if my son could be here for you, he would..."

Akane sat up and wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath to compose 
herself and then nodded, "You're right, Obasama... Ranma did love me... I 
guess I still have that..."

Nodoka put on a forced smile and said, "That's right. Now... The hard part is 
still ahead of us... We have to go to the funeral..."

Akane began to choke up again. "I don't want to..." she said in a small, 
frightened voice. 

Nodoka smiled reassuringly, "Don't you want to say goodbye to your fiancee?"
she asked.

Tears began to roll down Akane's cheeks, but she forced them back and regained
control, "I...I guess I do want to say...goodbye..." After a moments struggle,
the tears fell again. Akane sniffed and sobbed quietly for several minutes 
then Nodoka got up and walked to the door, "Remember, Akane-chan... Ranma 
loved you as much as he could. He died to protect you. There is no love 
greater than that..."

Akane looked up, "Yes, Obasama... I was...lucky to have him..."

Nodoka nodded and walked out of the room. As soon as she was gone Akane threw
herself on her bed and buried her face in her pillows. She did not cry, but
simply lay there feeling empty. It was as if losing Ranma had drained all the
life out of her as the killers bullet had drained the life from Ranma...

<STOP!> she thought angrilly, <Ranma would be angry at this! He'd hate for 
me to torture myself over this! I've got to stop...> Finally, she regained 
control and got up. There was lots to do. That would pass the time...and it
would fill the void...she hoped.

A few days later, Ranma's funeral was held in the park near the doujou. 

Much to Akane's surprise, virtually everyone Ranma had ever met or fought was 
there. All wore somber looks, even Ranma's worst enemies. Akane sat nearest
the grave, garbed all in black and wearing a black veil. It was ironic, she 
thought, that not a week before, she had dreamed of wearing a veil to a 
formal ceremony with Ranma. She sat mesmerised as the priest spoke of Ranma's 
life and his great deeds.

Akane could not help but feel bitter. What did this stranger know of Ranma? 
He had never met him. He had no idea of Ranma's courage and strength. Of his
integrity and tenactity... And of his love... Only she knew that... And it
made her feel both privaliged and angry.

The priest carried out his rites and then somberly said, "If there is anyone
who wished to speak on Ranma's behalf, now is the time to do so." 

Akane started. She so much wanted to get up and tell everyone who Ranma 
really was. She knew they had no idea. Much to her surprise, Ryouga got up 
and walked over to the lectern. He stood silently for a moment and Akane 
thought she could see him blinking back tears. Finally he composed himself 
and spoke.

"I know everyone here had a different opinion of Ranma. To some of us, he was
a trusted friend and confidant. To others, he was a rival and opponent... 
Ranma caused me a lot of trouble and no small amount of grief, but when he 
saved Akane-san at the cost of his own life, he showed me that I was wrong 
about him. Now, that I look back, I can see just how brave and honorable 
Ranma really was. For all his failings, Ranma was a good man. I think...that
after this is over... I, like everyone else...will miss him..." Ryouga slowly
turned and walked back to his seat.

A moment later, Tatewaki Kunou rose from his seat and strode commandingly 
over to the lectern. There were some momentary mutterings before he silenced 
them with a look. When he was sure that everyone was listening, he spoke 
evenly and with extreme dignity, "Ladies and Gentlemen... I will not bore you
with pointless poetry, nor decry any of Ranma's failings. Instead I wish to
tell you what I knew of Ranma Saotome. What I REALLY knew of him." 

"Ranma was a man of many facets. He could an imposing warrior one moment and
a snivelling fool the next. And yet he faced everything that the world threw 
at him without flinching and did his best in everything he did. Ranma was 
someone you could looked at and feel envious of. Not for his skill, which 
was great. Nor for his luck, which was also great, but for his strength of 
character and willingness to find the best in all people. That...was his 
greatest trait..." Kunou paused for a moment and then continued.

"Today has been one that I never believed would come true and I now wish that
it were not happening, for dispite my long standing rivalry with Ranma, he 
was someone I considered to be a kindred spirit. In an age where the way of
Bushido is frowned upon, Ranma lived that philosophy far better than I, or 
anyone else here could ever hope to. I now feel privaliged to have known him.
Thank you." Everyone stared as Kunou returned to his seat with the same air
of dignity he arrived with.

As soon as Kunou sat down, Ukyou got up and walked over to the lectern. She
paused as she got there and leaned on it for a moment. When she raised her
head, tears were shreaming down her face, but she did not wipe them away, 
prefering instead to wear them as a badge of pride. When she spoke, her voice
was calm and almost emotionless. "Ran-chan is gone. None of us can change 
that. However, he wound not want us to have our lives just stop for his sake.
Instead, he would want us to be happy in our own lives and to continue to 
fight for what he stood for."

Ukyou sniffed and then continued, "I loved...love Ran-chan more than anything 
else in this world and being here today hurts more than I ever thought 
possible... But... I also feel happy that so many of you thought so much of
him that you would come all this way to be here. Ran-chan lives on in each
and everyone of us. There is no-one who knew him who was not affected by his 
presence. Ran-chan could make you believe in yourself in a way which no-one 
else could emulate. Like himself, he could make you believe that no opponent 
was unbeatable and that no force was unmatchable. Ran-chan could bring the 
very best out of people because he was the very best of people. I love 
Ran-chan...and...I miss him..." Ukyou stepped away from the lectern and
stumberd over to her seat, her face in her hands.

There was silence for a time and Akane realised that it was her turn. She got
up ever so slowly, unsure of what it was exactly that she was going to say.
She moved with glacial slowness as she walked to the lectern. After and 
eternity of going seemingly no-where, she suddenly reached the lectern and 
turned to the crowd assembled before her. She gripped the wood of the stand 
to support herself as she looked out at the waiting crowd.

She could see all of Ranma's foes and friends. From Shampoo and Mousse, to 
Kirin and Touma and the Musk Dynasty and even Pansuto Tarou. She felt a 
little comforted that so many people had so much respect for Ranma. 

As the tears began to well in her eyes again, she felt a sudden wave of 
peace wash over her. She sighed and then spoke with a strong clear voice.

"I loved Ranma. I still do and I always will. I loved him almost from the
day I met him. We spent along time never really getting along and yet in 
all that time, we were being drawn closer and closer together. One week ago
today. Ranma came to me and said that he loved me." As she said this, a gasp 
ran through the crowd. When it passed she continued, "We were to be married  
in the autumn when the leaves fall... It was my hope that we would all come 
together for that day, rather than for this..." She paused again, wiping 
tears from her eyes. "However. Destiny or whatever rules such things, has 
decided differently and we're here now. I guess... What I wanted to say is...
that Ranma was the most wonderful, caring, courageous and honorable man I 
ever met. I know I will miss him probably more than anyone else...because he  
was my fiancee and I loved him. Thank you all for coming. It means a lot to
know you all cared so much..." She trailed off and then stepped slowly away 
from the lectern. 

The priest spoke a few more words and then the assembed group broke up. Most 
of them left immediately, but some stayed behind to go to the graveyard and
and pay their final respects. 

Hours later, Akane arrived home to find everyone sitting quietly around the
dinner table, each apparently wrapped in their own thoughts. Ranma's death 
had apparently made everyone think about their own mortality. If Ranma could
die, anyone could...

In the days that followed, many changes took place at the Tendou-ke and the
surrounding Nerima district. It was amazing to Akane's mind that one person
could have such impact on an entire town. Shampoo, Mousse and Cologne packed
up their belongings and returned to China without a word of goodbye. Mousse
had left a note which explained Shampoo's and his feelings and made it clear
that there was no animosity between any of them and gave a wish of good luck.

Akane went to the graveyard several times, finding a certain solace in at 
least being near Ranma from time to time. She was most surprised to find 
Ryouga crouched near the grave one day, praying. She walked up behind and 
waited until he had finished. When he turned, she spoke, "Ryouga-kun. What 
are you doing here?" she asked.

Ryouga stammered for a moment and then bowed his head, "I was asking Ranma 
for the same courage he had. I'm going to find out who killed him and avenge 
his death!"

Akane stared in shock, "You... No... You musn't..."

Ryouga gaped, "But... What about Ranma?! What about what it did to you?!" 

Akane grabbed his arm, "No! You mustn't do anything like that! I couldn't
bear for you to die too, Ryouga-kun!"

Ryouga reluctantly nodded and turned away, "I'd better go. I should really go 
home now..." He picked up his pack and slowly trudged from the grave site. As
he walked away, Akane called out, "Ryouga-kun! You'll come back won't you?"

Ryouga turned and smiled grimly, "Of course, Akane-san... Anything for you..."

With that, he turned and walked out the gate.

[End part 5]
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