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PART XX
Catching the Butterfly.
Until Death us do part.
Epilogue#2
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Ryoga looked around slowely, trying to figure out where he was
supposed to be serving the seafood okonomyaki he was holding. He
turned around again. *Help!* 
Ukyo sighed. "Behind you, Ryoga. The guy with the red hat," she called. 
"Thanks Ucchan." He didn't even notice what he'd said, he was too busy
thanking the few lucky stars he possessed that the guy wasn't too far away 
for him to get lost again, and that he hadn't been smacked over the head as 
usual. Well, he'd soon wish those lucky stars had saved the luck till later. 
Ukyo turned scarlet and pretended she hadn't heard.

Kodachi was not in a good mood. OK, she was in a real shitty mood. One
moment she'd been relishing the daydream of marrying Ranma, having his
children and leading a happy life, next thing she knew, the Chinese
bimbo's great-grandmother was stood in her bedroom glaring at her.
Accompanied by Ranma darling and the Tendo girl. 
A few minutes ago, they'd met up in the driveway below. Ranma glared at 
Cologne. "What are you doing here, you dried up old mummy?" he asked rudely. 
Cologne didn't bother to rise to the insult. "Now now, son-in-law, I have with
me, truth serum and a tape recorder. I will let you have a copy of the
Kuno girls confession for Soun Tendo. IF you let Shampoo return to you
as your fiancee." 
"No way!" he blurted, then wished he hadn't. *Drat! I didn't think about how I 
was gonna prove all this! I need that recorder!*
 Cologne shrugged. "I was going to add, if she chooses. But, there we go. Akane,
congratulations on your engagement ..." 
Akane looked at Ranma. He looked back. "Aw jeez. Sorry Akane, but it's the
only way to stop you from becoming R-D's wife." He turned to Cologne.
"If you give me a copy of the confession, I will let Shampoo be my
fiancee. But that doesn't mean I will marry her, you got that?"
Cologne nodded. Akane nodded and didn't punch Ranma into the
stratosphere. Ranma decided not to sharehis views on the fact that all
this wasn't very fair to Ucchan and although he didn't like it, he'd
play her a copy of the recording and see if she wanted to be his
fiancee again. 
They made their way into the Kuno homestead. "Ranma darling!" Kodachi 
purred. *With all the other girls engaged, you have finally come to me!* 
Ranma looked at her. "My my. Haven't we been doing our homework," he said 
sarcastically. Unknown to Kodachi, Cologne switched on the tape recorder and
snuck up behind her with the truth serum.
"What are you talking abo..."
 Cologne popped the serum in her mouth while she was talking and settled back to
watch the results.
Ranma continued. "Hitting all their weak spots. Shampoo being defeated
in battle, you faked the photograph, didn't you? Ucchan and Ryoga -
you knew my pop wanted to get rid of her and would send one of those
faked photo's to her father. And Akane. You targeted the one thing
that her father would rank as more important than his promise to my
pop - his wife's fianl wishes." He paused. "Isn't that true?" 
"Yes." Kodachi was shocked, to say the least. 
"Tell us all about it," Akane said with a small smirk. 
Kodachi was trapped. Condemned by her own words. She explained all about it. 
All the research she'd done into Chinese law and the Tendo family history. Ryoga 
and Ukyo, she added. That had been pure luck, when Mr Saotome had sent it to 
Ukyo's father. She'd merely been expecting Ranma to accuse Ukyo of being unfaithful
to him and dump her. She talked until the tape ran out. 
Cologne grinned. "Well, thank you for that interesting little talk, Miss Kuno.
We'll be on our way now." She hopped out of the window, closely
followed by Ranma and Akane. 
"Hey, old lady! You'd better keep your side of the bargain," Ranma called. 
Cologne nodded. "I'll make a copy of it right now," she promised.

Shampoo looked at the tape recorder. "This all true?" she asked
finally. 
Cologne nodded. "Every little bitty detail." *Good thing I
sent Mousse out on a delivery call*
Shampoo shrugged. "So?"
Cologne gazed at her great-grandaughter in amazement. "Don't you see? With
this, you can be Ranma's fiancee again! If Nabiki threatens to send
that photo to the council, we have proof that it isn't real!" She
waved the original tape at Shampoo. "You don't have to marry Ryoga any
more!" 
Shampoo stared at the tape. *I-it can't be true!* She could be Ranma's fiancee
 again. Ranma, the man she'd loved for so long. The man she'd been to Jusenkyo
 for. The man she'd spent so long plotting to gain. The man she'd spent so many 
nights dreaming of. The man who'd dumped her. She blinked. Ranma had dumped
her without a second thought and left her with two choices for a husband. Mousse.
And Ryoga. The spatula girl was certain to choose Ranma, then it would return to 
the vicious circle of her, Akane, and Ukyo chasing Ranma. If he'd dropped her so 
quickly this time, then the likelihood of him choosing her at the bitter end was very
small. She wasn't sure she'd be able to cope with losing him again. It was hard enough 
the first time. When he'd left her without a second thought. To marry either Mousse or 
Ryoga. And she'd chosen Ryoga. And he was nice to her. They were friends. They might be
more, if given a chance. Sure, Ranma would be a better choice as an Amazon but ... "Ranma is
a JERK!!!"
Cologne gaped at her in amazement. "Wh-what?" 
Shampoo stood up. "Ranma is a jerk. Shampoo stay with Ryoga." She gave the shocked
Amazon elder a sweet smile. "I go take him tape?"
Cologne nodded numbly.

Kodachi lit the last candle and began chanting. This was the final
resort. All the preperations were made. The cellar was her little
place. No-one would disturb her in her work. If selling her soul to
the Devil was what she needed to do to make Ranma hers, then she'd
sell it. There was a loud explosion, lots of bangs and lots of smoke.
Kodachi coughed and waved some of away. When the smoke cleared,
standing in the center of the five-pointed star was the Devil himself.
The most evil being in history. The darkest creature in mythology. And
he was holding .... a handful of Magic Knight Rayearth cards. Kodachi
pointed to them, speechless.
Satan shrugged. "So I was having a slow day and invited some friends over. Big deal." 
"But Magic Knight Rayearth?" Kodachi looked at them a moment longer. 
Satan glared at her. "So I like them." He streched his form for a second. "OK lady,
I've got a good hand here, and I just _know_ someone's gonna be going
through the pack right now and cheating. So hurry up and tell me what
you want." 
Kodachi straightened up. "I am willing to sell my soul in return for the love of Ranma 
Saotome." She paused for a second. "And could you also kill _anyone_ who interferes?" 
Satan nodded. "Very well. The nastiest demons in Amityville are on the case. And just so
you know I really a nice person a heart, I'll not take your soul until after the job is finished." He vanished. 
Kodachi reached down and picked up the ace of hearts, which had a cute l'il super deformed
Hikaru on the front. "I think you forgot something." The card vanished.

George and Kathy Lutz gasped in surprise. One second earlier, there
had been chaos. Walls had been dripping slime again and the clock had
struck thirteen. And once again, Kathy had been posessed by a demon.
And it had all stopped. George didn't believe it would last. "Kathy,
get the kids. We're getting the hell out of here."

Back in Japan, a long distance distance lorry driver climbed out of
his cab with a groan and walked into the roadside cafe. The demons
waited until he'd entered the cafe before taking over the engine and
manouvering the _very_ large vehicle out of the car park. When you
imagine this tanker, think big. Think ginormous. Think "Whoa Mama!"
The demons chattered and laughed as they headed the tanker down the
road, in pusuit of the person who would pose them the biggest threat,
but didn't even realise it. The bee was buzzing.

"Ucchan. Something you need to hear," Ranma proclaimed, entering the
restaurant. 
Akane poked him. "Why are you telling her?" she hissed.
"Because it's not fair otherwise. Besides, she may not want to be my
fiancee again. Shampoo didn't," Ranma replied. He was rather hurt
about that, although there was no way he'd ever tell Akane that -
she'd just clobber him. He'd never've believed it if Shampoo hadn't
said so herself. Akane nodded her understanding. 
Ukyo quickly poured a glass of cold water over Aiko before Ranma had a 
chance to notice her, and walked over to him. "What is it, Ranchan?"
 Ranma gulped. "This is pretty important ... and I think Ryoga should hear it too." 
*Suicide! But I suppose it _does_ concern him ...* 
Ryoga grabbed the tee-shirt he kept under the counter and pulled it over Aiko, before 
walking over to them. "Hear what?" 
Ranma picked up the tape recorder and pressed play. "Listen."
"...poisoned him and took a photo of the okonomiyaki chef leaning over him. Then I 
doctored the photograph to make it look like they were kissing and I sent it to my darling 
Ranma in the hope that he would dump her ..."
Ryoga and Ukyo listened in stunned silence for a second. "Is that ..." Ranma reached over 
and stopped the tape. "It's Kodachi. And it's all true." He looked at them both with a
serious expression. "Ucchan, I'll understand if you don't want to, but if you do, you can
be my fiancee again. I'll explain to your pop. But this time the desision's all yours." 
Ryoga stood up. He already knew what the answer would be. *She'll have Ranma back. So 
will Shampoo. Everythings all back to how it used to be. Which means I'm out.* "Well, I wish 
you all the best. It's been fun," he said quietly. He walked towards the door. "Thanks for everything." 
Ukyo jumped to her feet and ran after him. "Wait a second! I haven't even answered yet!"
"So?" Ryoga turned around. "You've been devoted to the guy for ten years, one way or another. When 
your Dad said you had to marry me, you spent four hours on the phone trying to get out of it. What's
changed? You're still going to go running back to him." He turned and walked towards the door again. 
Ukyo gazed after him, then ran forward again. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Home." *Wherever home is.* 
"You haven't finished working!" 
"Well I quit!" *I don't need to see you and Akane and Shampoo all fighting over Ranma again! So stop dragging
me down and let me get away!* He almost wished he had the courage to say that, but knew that she'd whack him over 
the head until he agreed to do as he was damn well told. 
Ukyo glared at him. "Well that's fine! See if I give a damn!!!" *How dare you just walk out on me, you
bastard!!! I don't need you anyway!!* 
"FINE!!!" 
"FINE!!!" They glared at each other a little longer. "I thought you were going!" Ukyo snapped. 
"Oh, I'm going all right!" Ryoga snapped back. He stomped out of the door, resisting the rising urge to slam it behind him. 
"Meow!"
Ukyo glared at the little kitten-child behind her. Ignoring the small
part of her mind that was screaming to her 'Yo, Ucchan, get a grip!
Ryoga had left the cat behind because it would be too dangerous to
take her with him!', she grabbed Aiko by the back of the tee-shirt and
dragged her to the door. She flung the door open and stamped onto the
pavement. "Take your dratted little moggy ith you!" she screamed,
shoving Aiko forward. "And I hope she gets hit by a truck!" 
Aiko ran into the road. The demons screamed with demonic laughter as the tanker
rushed down the road, bearing down on the kitten-child. She froze like
a deer caught in headlights. 
Ryoga spun around. Without even pausing to think, he ran froward to push her out of 
the way. Just a second too late. The tanker turned, slamming Ryoga and Aiko into the 
side of the building opposite Ucchans. The demons laughed, then disappeared. Their
work was done for the day.

Ryoga slowly opened his eyes, then shut them again. His body hurt all
over and he was vaguely aware of someone screaming. He wished he could
tell them to shut the hell up. ".... the driver? there's no driver?
how can ..." He opened his eyes again, and looked around. Why was
there so much blood? Why couldn't he move? He blinked a few times. Ah.
That was why. A huge great truck had jammed him against the side of a
building. "... alive. for gods sake, phone ..." He considered trying
to move the tanker, but quickly changed his mind. That would mean
moving, which meant he'd hurt more which meant the pain would make him
focus more on the situation in hand. Which he _really_ didn't want to
do because that meant he'd probably find out that this blood everywhere
didn't belong to him, but to someone else. And everyone else who had
been around were people he was rather fond of and he didn't want to be
covered in their blood. "... ryoga, can you hear ..." Aiko. Had he
saved her? He looked around wildly, searching for her. He scanned the
forming crowd. Ranma looked stunned, Ryoga noted. You probably
could've knocked him down with a feather. Akane wasn't here ... oh,
there she was. Holding back Ucchan. She looked just as stunned as
Ranma. And Ucchan. Ah. So she was the one doing all the screaming by
the sounds of things. Akane was trying to hold her back. Ryoga looked
at her a little longer. Funny. Why was she crying? It wasn't like
anyone important had been hit, like Ranma or Akane or Ucchan... why
the hell was he thinking of her as Ucchan? Where the heck was Aiko? He
scanned the crowd a moment longer. "...i'm sorry i'm so so sorry i
didn't mean it oh god i'm so sorry ..." She wasn't in the crowd. Maybe
she was inside. He frowned a little, then stopped because it hurt to
frown. All this blood couldn't be his, not if he was still here. And
he was pretty sure he wasn't a ghost because his body hurt like hell.
So that must mean someone else had gotten hit too. He turned slightly,
ignoring the pain flooding through him as he did so. Aiko. She looked
even worse than he did. Rather more mangled, he decided. Maybe because
she was smaller and not as tough as him. He seriously doubted she was
still alive, even though the small part of his mind that was usually
controlling him insisted it was probably all just surface wounds and
she was just unconscious. Yeah right. And Akane would jump into his
arms and beg him to take her. "... let me go akane, i have to see if
he's all right..." He began to wish the other part of his mind _was_
in control, instead of this logical one.Although the moment that other
part took control, he knew he was going to lose it badly and probably
join Ucchan with the screaming. He wished she would stop it. She was
giving him a headache. The sirens weren't helping either. Ah. Sirens.
Maybe it was ambulance people. They'd take Aiko and make her all
better, because there was no way she was going to be all right, all
messed up like that, bent out of shape and covered in blood ... now he
was losing it. Any second now he was going to pass out, then he'd wake
up and realise that Aiko was dead. She couldn't be alive, not now. The
ambulance people could try, but they couldn't make her the same again.
Maybe they'd make Ucchan shut up though. If she didn't shut up, he was
going to go insane. Why was Ucchan fighting Akane? Didn't she see that
Akane was just trying to stop her from hurting herself on all the
glass and metal lying around? Oh now Ucchan, that was mean. You
shouldn't have elbowed Akane in the stomach like that. 
"Ryoga? Ryoga I'm sorry!" Ukyo ran over to him.
A burly police officer blocked her path. "Missy, you can't come through here." 
"Get out of my way, you asshole!" Ukyo snarled. "I need to see if he's all right." 
The policeman shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. The
paramedics are going to check him out..." 
"Get LOST!"
"Now there's no need to get hysterical..." He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"HYSTERICAL?!!" Ukyo jerked away from him. "Damn fuckin' right I'm
hysterical! That's my fiance, you jerk! Now let me past!" 
Ryoga grinned inwardly. He'd never really heard Ucchan swear much before and
it was amusing to say the least.
"He's your fiance?" The policeman looked a bit more concerned. "OK Missy, I think 
we should have the paramedics check you out too." 
"I don't NEED frickin'checking, I'm fine!" 
"Hey Ucchan?" Ryoga said weakly. Ukyo and the policeman stopped arguing and turned to stare at him. 
"What? What is it?" she asked, rushing past the policeman and kneeling down next to him. 
"Could you please shut up? You're really giving me a he..." Blackness overwhelmed
him and he slumped against the front of the truck before he could finish talking.
 "...ryoga?! wake up you bastard, don't you dare die on me, ryoga, are you listening to me you little..."

Ryoga opened his eyes, blinking in the light. That was better. At
least he didn't have a tanker pressed against his chest anymore. It
really put a damper on trying to breath. 
"Ryoga?" *GLOMP* Ok. So now instead of a tanker pressed against his chest he had a person pressed
against his chest. He focused on whoever it was. Female. (Good!)
Brunette. Long hair. Ah. 
"Ucchan?"
"Yes?" Ukyo didn't move. 
"You're kinda hurting me now." That was true in any case, he reflected. Sure,
it was nice to be glomped every now and then, but his poor body hurt
all over. Even with his body, being slammed into a wall by a huge
tanker doing 120 mph at the time of impact can really hurt. Especially
when you aren't even blocking. 
Ukyo sat up. "Sorry." She paused for a second, then crumbled. "I'm so sorry, really really sorry!
I didn't mean it, I swear!" she sobbed. "You can hate me forever if you want, I
deserve it for being such a bitch to you..." 
"Ucchan, shut up and talk sane," Ryoga blurted. *Yep, my brain's still addled. I musta hit my
head too hard or something.* Normally, he'd never say anything like
that - the chances of having his head smacked were too high. Then
again, this was hardly normal. Him in a hospital bed and Ukyo in
hysterics about it. "It wasn't your fault, got that?" 
"But ... if I hadn't kicked you out ..." 
"I left, remember?" Ryoga made himself a little more comfortable. "So where's 
Aiko?" *Tell me I imagined that bit ... I was hallucinating.* Part of him was 
screaming for him to shut up. He didn't want to know - best to think she'd run away.
Another part of him just needed to know if she was dead or alive.
Problem was, he already knew the answer and he had a bad feeling that
when Ukyo confirmed it, the rational part of him that was dealing with
this whole mess would shut down and he'd lose it. 
Ukyo placed a hesitant arm around his shoulders. "I-I'm sorry ..." 
*No ...* His shoulders slumped.
"...There was nothing they could do to save her..."
*Stop it ... I don't want to know this...* he thought, starting to shake. 
"... She was dead on arrival ..." 
"NO!" Ukyo stopped talking. "It's not true! She can't be dead ... they saved her, they
had to..." He started to cry. "Japan has the b-best t-t-technology in
the w-world ... she's t-t-too l-lit-little..." He stopped, unable to
continue coherently. *She was mine! MY little Aiko ... and now she's
all gone...* Sobs of grief wracked through him.
Ukyo pulled him closer and he leaned his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry ..." she whispered.
"S-s-she w-was a-a-all I-I h-had l-le-left i-in the w-wo-orld ..." he
managed to choke out, before Ukyo pressed a finger to his lips. 
"Ssh." She gave him a little smile. "You don't have to explain. Just rest."
Ryoga nodded and closed his eyes, sniffling. It wasn't long before he
was asleep. Ukyo sighed and looked at him, sleeping in the hospital
bed. *It's sad really ... you never know how much someone means to you
until you lose them ...* It was kinda strange, she thought, how much
younger he looked. Younger and even more vunerable. She leaned over
and kissed him lightly on the lips. *Get better soon ... and don't
ever scare me like that again.*

End Part XX Epilogue#2
The End
CATCHING THE BUTTERFLY VOL 1
When the things you want are always just out of reach.

Well, that was painful. Stay tuned for vol 2! It'll probably mean I'll
be sent to an insane asylum ... I pulled another all nighter to get
this finished! ^_^ Had a lovely chat with God who gave me some ideas
about what the Devil is planning to do and the reason why Ryoga was
brought back from the brink of death. You'll also get to find out
about the ongoing feud between the Hyperdolls and the Sailor Senshi,
meet Pretty Magical Girl Ryoko and her brother, as well as Ryoga's
little sister. Enjoy! And mail me at either benji_delaski@hotmail.com
or benji_delaski@mailcity.com. I look forward to any comments, as long
as they're nice ones.
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*Sob*choke* I hate that bit... but there we go, volume one all done! 
Now all I have to do is keep nagging Benji-Chan until she finishes 
volume two so I can send it to you. 
Is it just me, or am I being overly poetic?
Ja ne, Kai-Chan
Member 30 of SSoAGMA, Deadly Everyday Object Weaponary Technique, Dragon Warrior Style
Mousse no miku; Generally dangerous English otaku
Member of the Chan club; Wos; Head Castrator of the Hotnit Feminisation Project; SOotCiP; Supporter of cliched pairs;
Keeper of the Moneybags for the Hotnit Fan Club; CotMHW - Launderer of the Robes of Death; SLAP;
4th Gen. EOE; Image Consultant For "That Guy"; #WASHU#;AKPReSS, Gen. Div.
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Coming soon to list near you.. the legendary 50 foot sig of Team Chan !