Trials and Tribulations XIII



Water dripped down the darkened passageway to land at Ryouga's weary feet.
He stumbled slightly, catching his breath as the basket of laundry in 
his arms tilted slightly as if about to fall. The only noise in the 
corridor was the sound of his breathing, his breath ragged from the lack 
of air. Down there, underneath the earth, you couldn't even hear the din 
of the prisoners as they marched slowly down their narrow hallways. He 
continued onto the broken stairway before him, and to even deeper depths. 
< The darker surroundings matched my mood >, he thought glumly. His mind 
was where it always lay these days, with Ranma. An involuntary groan 
left his lips as he remembered the encounter with Ranma just minutes 
ago… 

“Hey.” Ranma stammered. He had been caught in the hallway unawares by 
Ryouga as he was on his way to the infirmary. Standing face to face with 
him again, a big rush of anticipation and feeling invaded Ranma’s body 
and he could feel himself blush hotly. Ryouga’s hair was mussed as usual,
and he looked in perfect health, Ranma frowned, except for those 
I-haven’t-slept-in-a-year eyes and his expressionless demeanor. A sting 
of hurt suddenly surfaced as Ryouga turned away again, laundry on his 
shoulders. He too was heading underground. 

“ Ryouga, wait up!” It seemed as if Ranma’s voice had a mind of it’s 
own, and he couldn’t help himself from desperately calling after him. 
“ Please, Ryouga, don’t leave!” 

To Ranma’s surprised, Ryouga stopped and glanced back a Ranma slowly. 
Ranma’s breath quickened, and his pulse raced as he walked over to stand 
an inch from Ranma’s face. Their breath mingled and quickened in rapid 
succession. “ Ryouga…” Ranma whispered. 

They were soon enveloped in a long kiss that seemed to last forever. 
Melting against each other, they nuzzled slowly and reluctantly pulled 
apart . 

“ That’s for you to remind you of me.” 

Ranma’s smile dropped and he looked up at Ryouga in astonishment, anger, 
and then fear. Ryouga was still worried about Issoku! He cringed as he 
remembered his past actions with the violet eyed demon, and cursed 
himself for not thinking of how it would effect Ryouga. Stock stiff with 
worry, he could do nothing but watch as Ryouga walked away from him, and 
back to his cell. 

Soon, all that was left was the sound of water hitting the broken 
stones that made up the floor. Ranma was beginning to wonder if maybe 
Issoku was more trouble than he was worth. 


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Ryouga wiped his brow wearily as he trudged back down the stairs for the 
last load of laundry. Suddenly, the sound of shuffling feet alerted him 
to the fact that someone was around. Before he could even scream, a long,
thin hand reached around to clutch his neck. Violet eyes sparkled in the 
darkness. 

Ryouga gasped and almost had a heart attack right then and there. 
Turning around to see his present competition was not a happy thing. 
Ryouga scowled, “ What’re you doing here?” 

BAM! 

As quick as lightning, Ryouga was up against the wall with the Issoku 
breathing down his neck. “ Listen up and listen good, for I’m only gonna 
say this once…leave my Ranma alone, or I’ll kill you. 

Issoku smiled,” Or better yet, I’ll make sure that Ranma never sees you 
again.” 


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Lurking in the darkness, Ousui laughed. 




To Be Continued …