The Only Survivors

This is a new story I came up with a few days ago. I had this idea since a long time already but it got erased from my head and I never posted it. One other reason was that at that time the story wasn’t good enough. I hope that this story would be able to entertain you guys. Maybe it might be a wreck or a good one…who knows? You just have to read on. This would probably be a one shot or two. But don’t expect more from that. And you guys already know that I don’t own Ranma ½.

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The first thing I noticed was the bright light coming in from the window when I woke up. Getting out of bed was the last thing I wanna do because we had reached home about three o’clock last night. It was an eventful training trip but it exhausted both of us. Aida fell asleep a few blocks away from home and I had to carry her all the way.

She must’ve been really tired. After all, it was a really long travel from the training site. Good thing I don’t get lost anymore or we wouldn’t be at home for another two months or so. Well, I had to get up for the morning class. I’m glad that they weren’t a pain in the butt. Actually none of the classes were. I’m not sure if Aida would help with the class today as she was really exhausted.

I nearly hit the door with my head due to sleepiness. I groaned as I remembered to smoothen out the bed which I slept in. I yawned and covered my mouth with a hand and walked out of the room into a very quiet environment. Well, no surprise there since the house has been like that for about 14 years. I walked towards the door of Aida’s room where it used to be Nabiki’s and knocked on it. I knocked again when there was no answer.

“Aida, are you still sleeping?” I heard no answer. I opened the door and found that her room was dark. She must’ve drawn up the curtains to block out the sun light. I saw her sleeping on the bed with the blanket twisted and wrapped around her small body. Sighing I shook her to wake her up.

“Hey, wake up. You’re gonna miss breakfast.” She groaned in her sleep and turned away from me. Oy, I should’ve found a training site much more near to town. I walked to the window and pulled the curtains open. The light of morning immediately flooded the room.

“Aah,” Aida exclaimed as the light temporarily blinded her eyes. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her blanket attempting to block the sun light.

“Come on, get up.”

“(groan) Okay, okay,” Aida said sleepily. She sat up on her bed rubbing her eyes and yawned. Her short black hair was a mess. Her white pajamas were filled with wrinkles. Her hands fell down from her face revealing a pair of blue eyes which reminded me so much of my friend.

“Hurry up,” I said as I walked out the door leaving my sleepy daughter in the room. I walked slowly down the stairs and went into the kitchen and started to take out the ingredients to make a simple miso soup for breakfast. I heard heavy footsteps coming down from upstairs. She must be really tired. Maybe she should only handle the afternoon class. Aida walked into the kitchen and went to sit at the table.

“You want tea?” I asked. At her sleepy nod I took some hot water which was for the soup and took out some teabags from the upper closet. I poured the hot water into a cup and dropped the teabag into it.

“Go wash your face first.” Aida stood up and walked over to the sink. The water rushed out and Aida cupped her hands and filled it with water. She splashed the water all over her face and she seems to feel more refreshed. She turned the tap off and sat back on her chair while I returned to make breakfast.

“Mrs. Yumi didn’t come today?” Aida asked me. Yumi was a friend of mine. She usually comes every morning to make breakfast. At first I told her she didn’t have to do that but she insisted on it. I finally gave in. But since we went for that one week training trip, I told her that she didn’t need to come to the house until we came back.

“I haven’t called her yet,” I answered. “Go sit at the dining table, breakfast is almost done.”

“Okay,” Aida said as she got up not forgetting her tea and walked over to the dining table. She sat at her place and sipped her tea slowly since the water was still hot. I took out two bowls that has miso soup in it for the two of us. I set it down on the table and Aida took one while I took the other. We ate quietly when a moment later Aida asked me a question which I really didn’t want to answer.

“Dad, how come you don’t marry someone?” she asked. “Having a mom would be nice.”

I nearly chocked on the noodles and stayed quiet for a while. She kept on eating while I looked at her. She reminds me so much of her mother; the short hair that seems to mimic her mother’s hairstyle. She was also a tomboy; a really clever and strong martial artist. It’s amazing, even if it’s been 14 years; her mother seems to live in Aida. That cute little nose which made her face look like an exact replica of the girl I used to love so many years ago.

“Dad?” Aida called out to me.

“Uh…well, I couldn’t find anyone that can be good enough for you,” I lied. The truth is I never wanted to marry anyone. Sure a daughter needs her mother, but after what happened 14 years ago…I-I just can’t take the risk of losing another person, and I don’t want Aida to experience what I had gone through.

“What if you let me choose?” her suggestion startled me. “That way I could decide which mother I would like.”

Yeah, you’d probably already guessed it. I never told Aida about what happened. It was just…painful to tell the story. I know I should but…what if she hated me? I couldn’t do anything back then to stop it. It happened way too fast. I should’ve done something. Maybe if I did, I’d be with the one that I love most, and Aida might have had a mom right now, waking her up every morning for breakfast, teaching her the acts of a proper lady. But I couldn’t imagine what my life would be without Aida. I’ve grown to love her as if she was my own daughter, although she wasn’t really mine.

“No, I’ll find one someday,” I replied. “Since last night we came home late, you only have to help with the afternoon class.”

“Yeah! Alright!” Aida exclaimed happily.

Making her happy…that’s what I’ve been doing ever since the day I became her father. It warms my heart every time I see her smile; reminds me of Akane. I still wish I could’ve changed what happened 14 years ago. Maybe…maybe I should tell her, but not now. The time will come…the right time. When I’m ready, I’ll tell her.

14 Years Ago……

A cry of a newborn baby was heard from outside the delivery room. A little baby girl was finally born after 9 months of pregnancy. I opened the door of the room and saw Akane holding her baby girl close to her with her husband, Ranma at her side. Nabiki and Kasumi came in to see their new niece. I sat on a chair in the corner of the room, looking at the people binding together with the newborn. It was a really happy moment.

“Someday we’ll have one of our own,” my fiancée said coming into the room. She had a smile on her beautiful face.

“Yeah,” I stood up from my seat and walked over to Ukyo and kissed her. “I can’t wait until we’re married.” Our wedding day was going to be next week and I wished that it would come faster.

“Ryoga, Ukyo, do you want to hold her?” Ranma asked holding up his baby who was wrapped in a towel. She looked just like her mother. I don’t know how I saw the resemblance, but it was there.

“Can we?” Ukyo asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” Akane insisted with one of her winning smiles that used to make me crazy. But there was none of it now. I fell in love with Ukyo after Akane and Ranma finally married. I was both happy and depressed at that time. But then I started getting lost more often, and then I was smart enough to figure out that being depressed was the reason for me getting lost. I tried to be as cheerful as possible. It proved to be hard but after about three months, I returned back home. I still don’t know the reason for my parents getting lost.

When I came back, Akane was already pregnant three months and a half. I was really heartbroken but hid it. Ukyo was in the same condition as me. I stayed, actually was forced to stay at her house since I lost the keys to mine. I stayed there for about two weeks. In all that time we learned about each other and eventually fell in love. As for the Amazons, I was told by Ukyo that they had gone back to China and might never come back again.

“Okay then,” Ukyo’s voice pulled me out of my reverie. Both of us walked towards the couple and Ukyo took the baby in her hands. “Oh, she’s so cute,” Ukyo said rubbing her nose with the baby’s making the little infant giggle. She handed over the baby to me and I cradled her in my arms. I stuck out a finger at her and waved it around. She grabbed the finger and sucked on it. I couldn’t resist chuckling a bit. “What are you going to name her?” Ukyo asked. I looked at Akane and Ranma.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and smiled, agreeing on one name that they must’ve thought about long ago. They turned their heads to us and said the name of their new baby.

“Aida,” they simultaneously said.

“Aida…” Nabiki repeated thoughtfully.

“My, that’s a nice name,” Kasumi said.

I handed the baby back to Akane and stepped back to Ukyo.

“I really can’t wait,” Ukyo whispered at me. I chuckled a bit at her.

“Ahem,” the doctor intruded. He was barely noticed by anyone; poor guy. “Mr Saotome, there are a few papers you need to fill in.”

“Oh, sure,” Ranma said as he got up and followed the doctor out of the room.

After they left, I sat down on the chair I sat on earlier and Ukyo pulled up another one and sat on it as well. I don’t know how many more chairs they have in the room because Kasumi and Nabiki pulled up a chair for their own and sat down. Akane was playing with her baby who was giggling all the way. Aida then began to cry and immediately Akane knew she was hungry and breastfed her daughter. I blushed a bit and Ukyo elbowed my ribs.

An hour later, Akane was able to exit the hospital. At first we wanted to return to my home but then Kasumi invited us for tea. We couldn’t resist so we followed them back to the Tendo’s house. When we came in, Mr Tendo came to greet Akane with his crying. Akane shushed her father angrily so to not wake Aida. Mr Saotome came and patted Ranma on the back.

Kasumi went into the kitchen and whipped up some tea and biscuits. We all sat down at the table and talked slowly about the baby’s clothes and other stuff. The two older men played their usual cheating game of shogi. Kasumi then came out with a tray and set it on the table. We took each other’s cups and a biscuit.

“Kasumi, I’m going to put Aida to bed in your room,” Akane said as she stood from the table.

“Okay,” Kasumi replied.

Akane walked up the stairs. Moments later, she came back down and sat back at the table. Ranma then stood up and looked at me.

“Hey Ryoga, I wanna talk to you for a sec,” my former rival said. I stood up and walked with him towards the dojo. “I bet you can’t wait until you’re married huh?” he asked as we were walking.

“(slight chuckle) Yeah…Ukyo’s getting impatient,” I replied.

“Aren’t we still young, 20 years old and about to get married,” Ranma said.

“Well, you’re over that line already,” I said. Ranma laughed lightly.

“You know, we haven’t sparred in a while,” Ranma stopped walking. “What do you say?”

It’s true we haven’t been sparring for a while now. It’s been about almost a year.

“Alright,” I answered. Then, we heard a scream coming from the house. Our heads snapped to the side looking at the house.

“Something’s happened,” Ranma said. We ran towards the house. When we turned the corner, we saw a very familiar face. It was Herb! He’s back and for what, other than meeting Ranma of course. Lime and Mint were also there. “Herb, what are you doing here?!” Ranma yelled. The Musk prince was shouldering Akane who seems to be unconscious. Everybody else was thrashed in the house.

“(evil chuckle) Payback,” Herb responded. Immediately he jumped over the wall and bounded off, Lime and Mint following behind him.

“Akane!!” Ranma yelled.

“Let’s get your daughter back Tendo!” Mr Saotome said. Amazingly, instead of crying loudly, Mr Tendo agreed and looked ready for battle. Ukyo was also ready. Ranma nodded and said.

“Alright, time to get Akane!” Ranma said. We all nodded and jumped over the wall. We chased the Musk prince all the way to an open area. Herb, Lime and Mint faced us. We stood in our stances a few meters away from them. “Drop her Herb!” Ranma yelled. Herb smiled and threw Akane towards Ranma but it looked like she wouldn’t reach him. “Akane!” Ranma jumped forward and caught her and landed on his feet. “You’re gonna get it,” Ranma growled as he stepped a few feet back and placed Akane down not even shifting his hard gaze at the prince.

“Bring it on,” Herb said confidently.

We all charged the three Musk people in front of us. Five against three looked like an easy win for us. Ranma reached Herb first with his amazing speed. Herb jumped back and brought Ranma along with him. I jumped over Lime as he tried to capture me with his arms and kicked the back of his head using it as a springboard. I landed on the ground and using the momentum charged at Herb who was engaged in combat with Ranma.

Herb managed to kick Ranma in the side sending him flying a few meters. I knew that Herb could’ve trained harder since Ranma’s last fight with him three years ago and I could see that he was better than before. I decided to join the battle with Herb too. Mr Saotome and Mr Tendo took Lime and Ukyo fought Mint. I jumped and directed a punch towards Herb’s head. Impressively, he blocked it with his arm but I could feel him waver a bit under my strength. Using my hand on his arm, I turned over his head and with a twist of my body; I aimed a kick towards his head.

He ducked under the attack and I lost balance in the air. Herb raised his right leg and kicked me in the gut. Intense pain surged through my body while I flew back a few feet and landed creating a gash in the ground. I got up slowly and at the time I saw Akane waking up. She looked around and saw that we were fighting. Akane stood up and helped Ukyo to fight Mint. I refocused on the fight between me, Ranma and Herb. Ranma was already throwing his Chestnuts Fists towards Herb which he easily dodged and blocked. Ranma jumped back knowing that the attack wouldn’t work any further.

“Hey, Ranma!” I called out. “Combo Attack Number 17!”

“Alright,” Ranma said as he jumped near to my position. I stood up quickly and executed the combo. I ran towards Ranma and jumped over him with a finger aiming at the breaking point in the ground. With a yell my finger connected and the ground exploded into rather large rocks. The rocks flew in the air and I quickly lay flat on the ground. Ranma used his Chestnuts Fists to ‘shoot’ the flying rocks towards Herb. The rocks flew towards the prince at great speeds. When all of the rocks have been propelled, I jumped forward from my position on the ground and was ready to punch Herb. Herb blocked the rocks which were flying towards him. He was preoccupied and I was getting closer to him. Finally, I landed a hard punch to Herb’s midsection and the prince was thrown back.

“The combo worked!” I exclaimed.

“Only for a while,” Ranma said behind me, and he was right. Herb got up as if he hadn’t been hit by anything. He smirked confidently.

“Damn it!” Ranma said. I could sense him running towards me. “Combo Attack Number 12!” he yelled. I was startled because that was a dangerous combo. “Ryoga, now!” Ranma yelled. I just had to do it. I summoned my negative chi and with a yell of ‘Lion’s Roaring Blast’ the huge energy was propelled high into the air. I felt Ranma jumped up too as the energy column began to descend. Ranma reached near the huge thing and fired up his own ‘Imperious Tiger’ attack. Ranma’s energy column hit Herb dead on.

Now comes the dangerous part. Ranma has to aim a punch at Herb the same way he did to me during that big battle between me and Ranma. My attack would then slam down on both of them with a tremendous explosion. I could feel the others stopped their fights as they looked at Ranma and the energy column closing down on Herb and Ranma.

RANMA’S POV

I was closing in on him. This attack was powerful enough to knock him down I hope. The weight of Ryoga’s heavy energy was pushing me even faster towards Herb. This was it. I aimed my fist directly to Herb’s head. When my own chi blast disappeared I was startled to find Herb still standing there ready to receive the punch I got for him. Then, I saw him smirk. It made me feel uneasy.

Herb extended his arm in front of him and shot his own chi blast forward. It was going to hit Ryoga and possibly the others. They were just standing there. I couldn’t believe it. I was still too far off the ground. Then, I used my Imperious Tiger attack again and shot it towards Herb trying to disrupt his chi blast. But my attack was too late.

RYOGA’S POV

I saw a chi blast fired out from Herb. I didn’t know why but I couldn’t move. But at the last moment I evaded the attack which I know is an unwise move because my energy column was about to hit the ground. I saw that Ranma also fired his chi blast towards Herb. But what happened next shook me out of my pants. Lime, Mr Saotome and Mr Tendo managed to avoid the deadly attack. So did Ukyo and Mint but the unlucky one was…Akane. She wasn’t fast enough and was hit by the powerful blast.

I couldn’t believe it. It must’ve been someone else, some wandering idiot who was clueless about how dangerous this fight was, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t fool my eyes. I saw her body falling down after being hit by that attack. From here I could hear the thump. I heard a deafening yell of anger from above. The energy column had grown two times bigger. It was Ranma’s anger. Ranma shot another chi blast at Herb but this one was way more powerful.

My energy blast finally hit the ground. Usually it wouldn’t hit me but since I was pushed out of my emptiness, I was forced down to the ground with tremendous force. The blast exploded and after the dust had cleared, I opened my eyes and saw Ranma standing looking down on a possibly dead prince. I got up on my knee when Ranma turned around. I could see in his eyes, the anger in them; they’ve become red. Ranma charged at Lime with his quick speed.

What happened next was truly frightening. Ranma kicked Lime’s head and from here I could hear Lime’s neck break. Then Ranma ran towards Mint who was attempting to escape and planted a jumping side kick at his back. His backbone snapped and he fell motionless on the ground. After the quick killing was done, Ranma walked slowly to Akane’s dead body and kneeled beside her. I stood up and noticed that Akane wasn’t breathing.

“Why didn’t any of you do anything?” Ranma asked in a threatening but calm voice. No one answered. He then stood up and said “If you did something to stop Akane from being hit she would be alive right now.” The red aura which I saw earlier was still surrounding Ranma. “You’ll pay for this,” Ranma said as he turned around. In a flash Ranma has already connected with his father and Mr Tendo. He punched Mr Tendo’s head until his neck was broken and fell down to the ground. Mr Saotome got hit with even faster punches from Ranma’s Chestnuts Fists and the old man fell to ground motionless.

Ukyo was next and I couldn’t believe she was also a target. I had to stop Ranma somehow. “Ranma, stop it!” I yelled but it did nothing. Ranma let out a stream of punches and kicks until practically every bone in her body was broken and her heart didn’t function anymore. Everyone was dead! And I’m next. I couldn’t respond as Ranma kicked me in the gut since he moved too fast. I was thrown back and landed roughly on the ground. The kick had hurt me a lot.

“Stop this Ranma,” I said as I struggled to stand up.

“You could’ve done something,” Ranma said angrily. He charged at me again and kicked me at the same spot and flew back. I tried to stand and it was really painful.

“Fine…have it your way,” I said. I had to stop him. He’ll hurt others if he continued to be this way. The problem is that I’m in no shape to fight an angry Ranma. I tried to summon my negative energy to push out one last Lion’s Roar Blast. If I fail, then I might not see the night’s sky. I cupped my hands together in front of me as I struggled to fight the pain. The energy ball formed in my hands and it was ready to be shot.

“LION’S ROARING BLAST!” I yelled as loudly as I can as I fired the huge energy beam at Ranma. It hit him and I tried to hold the blast for a while, just trying to make sure I made him pass out. The energy dissipated and I found it hard to stand up. My legs wouldn’t support me anymore and my arms fell limp. I saw Ranma getting up from his lying position on the ground. My attack wasn’t enough! This is it I thought. My life ends here.

“Ranma,” I weakly said.

Ranma immediately charged and performed a roundhouse kick. It must’ve been my reflexes when I raised my arm to block it. I was thrown back once more as the kick connected painfully at my arm. I groaned in pain and saw Ranma standing a few feet before me.

“Ranma…don’t do this,” I said as a last word before Ranma would finally finish me. But he didn’t. His aura dissipated and his expression changed to horror as he looked around at the dead bodies. He looked at the palm of his hands and I could see him tremble.

“W-What have I done?” Ranma said as his eyes were filled up with tears. He fell to his knees and tears leaked out of his eyes. He looked to his right and saw Mint’s dead body near him. I spotted the sword which Mint carried and I knew exactly what Ranma was going to do when I saw him reaching for the scabbard.

“No, Ranma, don’t do it!” I exclaimed as I struggled to stand up but couldn’t. Ranma unsheathed the sword and turned the sword’s blade so that it points to his abdomen. Then, he thrust the sword into his stomach and I could hear his gasp. “RANMA!!” I yelled as I finally stood up and limped quickly to him. Ranma fell to the side with the sword still in his body. I fell with a grunt to his side. I got to my knees and turned him to face me. “Ranma…” I whispered.

“We finally had that spar huh?” Ranma joked. At that time it didn’t feel funny anymore.

“Ranma, you can’t die. You gotta come through this. Aida needs you,” I said as I held him.

“No…” Ranma shook his head weakly. “She…she needs you.” He tried to draw a breath in. “I know you’ll take care of her. Make sure she grows up a good girl.”

“Ranma, please, don’t die,” I pleaded. Ranma’s eyes slowly closed and went limp in my hands. “No…no…” I wanted to scream but didn’t have the energy so I just held his head close to me.

After a while, I started limping back to the Tendo home while grasping my left arm. The journey had been exhausting and painful but I finally reached the house. The next thing I have to do was to tell the remaining Tendos about what had happened. I pushed the door open and walked towards the front door. I knocked weakly on it but no one answered. I walked around the house to the back and found Nabiki and Kasumi waiting for everyone’s return. I wondered why they didn’t hear me.

“Oh, Ryoga! You’re back!” Kasumi exclaimed. She stood from where she sat and ran towards me, Nabiki following close behind. Suddenly both of them stopped and Kasumi looked around. She looked back at me and asked “Where are the others?” I hesitated to answer that question but I had to.

“They…they didn’t make it,” I said sadly. At that moment I saw Nabiki’s tears running freely down her face. Kasumi was crying too but something else also happened. She started to have complication in breathing while she held her chest and she swayed around. “Kasumi…Kasumi!” I called out as she fell to the ground. Nabiki and I dropped on our knees to her side. I rolled her over to look at her. Her eyes were closed. I tried to feel her breathing…but no breath came out from her nose or mouth. I checked it again and it was the same result. Then I checked for her pulse and found nothing.

I checked again and it was the same as before. I started to worry. I started to perform CPR even if I was doing it on a girl. I didn’t care…I can’t afford to witness another life loss. I continued to do it as Nabiki checked Kasumi’s pulse. After several minutes I gave up, knowing that she can’t be saved anymore. Nabiki continued to cry and so did I. The last Tendo alive held her sister close to her.

Now, everybody was gone. The only ones left were Nabiki, Auntie Nodoka and Aida. Since no one could milk her, I asked Auntie Nodoka to milk Aida. Things were starting to get back to normal. I started to get closer with Aida and played with her when she wanted, bathed her while carefully trying not to get hit with cold water and even slept with her. But then, that day came. I was sitting with Aida and Auntie Nodoka watching the news. It had been a week since the battle between Herb.

I wished that name was someone else’s name. It burned my eyes. Nabiki had died in a car crash somewhere in Tokyo. She was crushed by an oil truck and it exploded in flames. Also in that same week, Dr Tofu died. He must’ve killed himself out of heartbroken since Kasumi died. At that moment I felt so depressed that even my Lion’s Roaring Blast wasn’t enough to release all of it. But, luckily Nodoka was there to bring me out of depression although deep down I still have that feeling.

Then, two months later, Nodoka died of some weird disease which I wouldn’t even want to describe it. Later I found someone else that could take the role of feeding Aida. I would’ve gone crazy if it wasn’t for her. Because of her I developed a sense of responsibility towards her. But I couldn’t help to not cry every night remembering everyone that had died and left. There was no one anymore. I was alone with Aida. The Amazons would probably never come back. Happosai doesn’t come anymore and I doubt that he would. There was no one anymore. We were the only survivors.

Present time……

The afternoon class had gone well. Aida’s help made the class much easier or was it that the boys were trying to impress her or something. That night, dinner was as quiet as usual. I kept glancing at her from time to time, wondering when I should tell her. I wondered what if she hated me. What if she turned away and leaves forever. Then I would be completely alone. So, I thought more about it.

Later that night, Aida was in her room while I was looking for some books. I found one and started reading it. Minutes later, I closed the book not that it was done but I couldn’t concentrate on it. A part of me wanted to tell Aida. I wanted to protect her from pain. If I kept this a secret…if she found out the secret in a bad way…it’ll hurt her and I don’t want to see her in pain.

Earlier this afternoon, this young boy named Keiro was talking with Aida about something. They’ve been friends with each other a few years now. I was curious like all parents would be so I went over there and asked what they were talking about. I didn’t doubt Keiro. He was a nice guy and a nice friend to Aida.

That’s what I want for her…someone that can protect her when I’m gone, someone that wouldn’t let anyone harm her, someone that could be there for her. I know that Aida and Keiro have nothing big between them but I trust Keiro that he’ll always be there for her and would never hurt her. And that’s what I have to do…I have to tell her so that I won’t hurt her. I placed the book back in its place and walked upstairs to her room. I knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

“Come in,” Aida’s voice called out from the other side of the door. I turned the knob and walked inside. I closed the door and looked at her seated on her bed.

“I wanna talk to you about something,” I said as I pulled up a chair.

“Is it about me and Keiro?” she asked starting to panic.

“N-No,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. Then, my expression changed as I began to reveal it to her. “It’s about you and me. Before I tell you this, I want you to promise me to just listen and please don’t get mad at me. You can scold me all you want when I’m finished, okay?” She nodded and I took a deep breath. “I’m…I’m not you’re real father.” I could see the shocked expression on her face.

“Y-You’re not my dad?” she asked. I shook my head. She looked away for a while before asking. “Then, who’s my real dad?”

“I’ll tell you. It’s about 18 years ago, the time when you’re real mother and father met,” then I started to tell her about Ranma and Akane, how they stood beside each other, how I used to have a crush on her mother, everything. Right up until the time when everybody disappeared one by one and why I didn’t tell her this earlier. It was like a bedtime story for her. Her expression was a little sad but then she lied down slowly on her bed. I pulled up her blanket and kissed her forehead as she soundly slept and walked out of the room.

The next morning, just after sunrise, we were at the graveyard where Ranma and the others were buried. Aida sat facing Ranma’s and Akane’s tombstone.

“Father, mother, I wish that you were here right now. I really wanna meet you two,” I stayed silent while Aida talked to them even if they might not hear her. “But, father, your friend had told me about what happened and I know how much you loved my mother. You couldn’t accept her to go away so you decided to be with her. From your friend’s story, I could tell that you were a good and kind person and I would been safe and loved under your protection.”

I smiled a bit but I was actually depressed inside. She loved them more than she did me. Well, they were her actual parents even though she had never met them. If they were still alive, I know that she’ll be happier…and that’s all I want for her.

“And thank you father…because you chose your friend to be my father in your place. He’s been good to me and had always protected me,” Aida’s continued words startled me. “If you didn’t choose your friend to be my dad, I don’t know how I could’ve lived. He’s the best father a daughter could ever ask for, and I wouldn’t wish for anyone else.” What Aida said really moved me. I wiped a tear from my eye and looked at her standing up and she looked at me with a smile.

“I love you…dad,” Aida said as she hugged me. Her head was a few centimeters from my chin. I smiled and hugged her back closely.

“I love you too…my daughter,” a happy tear leaked out from my eye.

…………………………

Whew, I think this is the longest one shot I’ve ever written. The actual story was to end up differently but it decided to take a change. Tell me what you think about this story. I pretty much like it, other than the deaths of various characters. When I thought about the ending, I decided to end it this way when I saw that the love between father and daughter was just right for this one. So the whole story was focused on Ryoga protecting Aida, even if she wasn’t really his daughter. Review this please and point out any mistakes because I’m lazy and there might be some mistakes that I left out. Bye and thanks for reading!

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