This one is dark so this is your warning. Also I don't own Ranma 'nuff said.
The wretched queen, pursued by cruel fate,
Begins at length the light of heav'n to hate,
And loathes to live. Then dire portents she sees,
To hasten on the death her soul decrees:
Strange to relate! for when, before the shrine,
She pours in sacrifice the purple wine,
The purple wine is turn'd to putrid blood,
And the white offer'd milk converts to mud.
-The Aenid Book IV
Ryoga had been traveling for several days and nights when he caught sight of Ucchan's. He gave a loud sigh of relief as he slowed his pace to the restraint. An old woman across the street mumbled so that Ryoga could hear:
"It's not been the same since last month, I wouldn't bother, young sir." Ryoga shrugged off her words and pulled the curtain aside. To his surprise, the place was deserted. It had a musty smell to it and everything had a thin layer of dust on it. The brave light that beamed in the room had a darkness to it that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Ukyo?" He called out looking behind the counter to see if this was a cruel joke. "Ukyo? Where are you?" He asked then frowned to himself. Why had fate picked him, the eternally lost boy, to find someone? He opened all the doors and searched in every drawer to find her. On his last attempt to find her, the white door that he remembered as the restroom for her customers, he squeezed the handle and turned it. It stubbornly wouldn't allow him to open.
"Ukyo?" He yelled through the door. "Are you in there?" He asked as he shook the door hard. "Ukyo! Open up! I'm going to give you one minute then I'm coming in!" Why would Ukyo be in the bathroom? He decided to give her one minute, that should give her enough time to finish her business and if she didn't come out he decided that knocking the door down was the best option. Ryoga had a small smile on his face as he thought of the scene that could unfold. Ukyo in the bathroom, washing her delicate hands, as Ryoga throws down the door. Ukyo then pulls out her spatula and hits him over the head while yelling "Jackass!" over and over again. Since the second wedding, she had a grieving air to her and spoke little, never yelling. The outburst should do them both good, Ryoga ached to be with a friend and he also knew that Ukyo ached to have things the way they were. At least she had Ryoga to yell and smack around.
The minute was nearly up and Ryoga prepared himself for Ukyo to throw open the door. His heart lightened at the thought of seeing her, he never knew he could miss someone like this. It was almost as painful as the longing he had to see Akane. He waited but even the door handle didn't turn. He pushed up his sleeves and took a firm grip of the door handle. He pulled as hard as he could and the lock and hinges broke easily. He gently leaned the door against the wall and peered in, prepared to cover his eyes at any given moment. What he saw took him my surprise.
Ukyo took her time closing one night and saw that one of her customers left their purse. She curiously looked in it for a wallet so she could return it the next day. She found a full bottle of prescription pain killers in it. She clutched the bottle reading the words over and over again. It's so easy, she thought. She placed the bottle back in the purse and set in under the counter.
Over the next week, she had no energy to open the store and laid in bed all day. She did not sleep but watched the ceiling, she thought was going to go mad. The owner of the purse never came by, no one came by, in fact. By the seventh day, she went downstairs to the store and looked around. Finding the place dusty and cold, she still couldn't find it in herself to open. A piece of metal that reflected the light caught her eye and she looked down at the abandoned purse. She picked it up and took out the bottle and went to the bathroom, her mind was set. If someone truly loved her, she would give them a half hour to come and stop her, but if not, she would end it all and carry her burden onward. She watched the clock and what felt like days later, her waiting period came to an end. She went to the bathroom and stared at her reflection for a minute and opened a box with a special spatula she received from her father as a child. He gave it to her to help her learn to cook okonomiyaki, as she grew, she could not use it anymore because it was too small. She still kept it sharp to give to her child so that the art of okonomiyaki would live on. She decided that if it hurt too much, she would take the pills. She leaned over the sink with her left hand in it. She grasped the spatula firmly and set the cold steel on her warm flesh. Clenching her teeth, she pushed the steel into her wrist and slid it slowly upwards. With tears falling onto the blood she stared at the now bloody spatula. The pain burned in her wrist and she couldn't find it in herself to slit the other wrist. She dropped the spatula in the sink and fell to the ground in loud sobs. She shakily reached for the pills and pulled herself up again. With her left hand she ran cold water and taking a handful of pills, she threw them back in her mouth and cupped some water with her right hand and drank it to help them down. She started to sob again and decided to lay on the cold, tile floor and was left wonder if anyone really cares.
"Fuck!" Ryoga yelled out as he went on his knees and grabbed her shoulders. "Ukyo!" He cried and shook her hard trying to force her wake up. He saw a bottle of pills on the floor. He stopped shaking her and placed his ear on her icy chest. He could hear a faint heartbeat and thanked the Lord for that. He lifted her up while placing the bottle in his pocket and carried her outside. "Where the hell is Dr. Tofu's clinic?!" He demanded the old lady.
"Down there." She replied taking a long look at Ukyo and pointing. Ryoga moved as fast as he could to the building with a giant panda out front. He kicked open the door, Tofu was treating a boy with a broken arm.
"Tofu! Help!" Tofu dropped the X-ray and rushed over to Ryoga.
"What happened?" Tofu asked while looking over Ukyo.
"I don't know, I found her like this."
"Ryoga, I can't do this kind of work. I don't have the equipment." Ryoga placed her on the examination bed.
"You've got to, she won't make it to the hospital!"
"I'll do my best. You've got to help me." Tofu lifted up her eyes lids and shined a flashlight in it. "I think she took these." Ryoga handed the prescription bottle to him.
"Shit!" Tofu cursed and went right to work on Ukyo. Ryoga stood back and watched him try to bring his friend back to life. And to think, he was going to be glad to see his old friend again.
A/N: What did you think? Please review and let me know