I'm still working on the Onna-Ryoga fic, but last night I had an idea that just
wouldn't go away and this is how it turned out. C&C are welcomed
They hadn't spoken since she got the news.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She'd said when it had first come, along with
the note she held in her hand.
"Would it have mattered?" Ranma asked.
"Yes!" Akane had told him. "Of course it would have. It puts a whole new
perspective on matters. I can't believe you would that cruel to him. To
me!"
"Cruel to *YOU*?" Ranma was astonished.
"You took away my right to make a correctly informed choice. Used propaganda
to influence me."
"I just didn't want..." Ranma faltered here.
"Didn't want him to end up with me?" Akane asked.
"He's not good enough for you." Ranma had said, coldly. "He's a jerk, he's
got a lousy temper, he's got no sense of humor, he's..."
"...he's dead." Akane had cut him off, stunning him into silence. "Ryoga's
dead. Because of you, my sweet little P-Chan is dead."
And she'd fallen silent.
Akane took out the letter and read it again. It was already stained with
her tears.:
My dearest Akane,
I am truly sorry to hurt you this way, but it is the
only way I can stop the pain. I wish I'd told you my
secret sooner. I was going to, the day after we met,
but then you took me into your bed and I knew if I'd
told you then, you would have thought I tricked you
and I knew *he'd* probably try to fuel that belief.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Maybe if you'd known,
you would have seen me not as someone who lied to
you, for my secret was kept out of shame and not out
of malice, but as someone who was there for you,
despite his own inner pain; as someone who loved you.
But now that is gone and he has won. Your heart is
leaping with joy as he embraces you even as mine is
breaking. I leave you to him now. You shall never
again look upon the face of the man who truly loved
you, or the pet whom you loved.
Farewell, my dearest Akane
Your beloved pet P-Chan
nee Ryoga Hibiki
Akane had stared at it in shock. Ryoga was P-Chan?! And Ranma had
known! He had known and had known had Ryoga had felt about her. And,
he had kept all that from her to make sure she married him. The letter
the note had been attached to had broken her heart. It had been from her
sister Nabiki. They'd found P-Chan lying on the floor in the pantry. He'd
eaten a large amount of rat-poison. Knowing his secret, they'd poured hot
water on him as he lay dying, hoping the change in size would increase his
chances of survival, but he'd eaten too much and had died within moments
of being found.