Part 1
Part 1
"Of course I do, you stupid tomboy! You think I like being a weak, perv-magnet girl? I don't want to be like you!"
Just what the hell was Ranma's problem THIS time? All she had asked was if he wanted some hot water and he had freaked.
It hurt more than she could have possibly imagined. The insults were secondary to the fact that he used them when she was only offering to help him. Certainly she was angry; who wouldn't be? Yet, she didn't hit him or insult him; she just couldn't make herself do it. It hurt just a little too much.
Holding back tears, but unable to control the tremor in her voice, Akane spoke with as much calm as she could muster. "I'm sorry I bothered to try and help. Get your own damn water!"
With that said, she ran off, wanting to get as far away from Ranma as possible.
The older man in tattered clothing picked up a stick. It would be good on the fire; the nights weren't getting any warmer with the approach of winter. He lifted the stick, surprised by its weight. It wasn't simply dead wood as he had first thought.
On closer inspection, the man could see intricate patterns carved in the wood, very beautiful patterns. One end looked like it had been broken, or something had broken off. At the opposite end was a smooth handle, and the curved grip seemed almost made for him. He marveled at the beauty of the 'stick' for a moment.
If nothing else, it would make a nice walking stick. Spending most of the day on his feet, a walking stick would be nice.
He walked to his accustomed spot under the bridge and sat down against the stone. Closing his eyes, he relaxed for a bit. Even though it was early afternoon, he thought of calling it a day.
Reopening his eyes, he looked at the barrel a few feet away from him. It was his warmth at night, very important warmth. He noticed that there was no heat coming from it though, which meant the fire was out. He stood up quickly and peered inside the rusty barrel hoping to see any flame at all.
Using the stick, he prodded the contents of the barrel, his spirit beginning to fall. Any sign of flame, a spark or ember would be enough to get the fire going again. Otherwise it would be difficult to restart the fire; it would take one of his few precious matches. And more matches could not be acquired without money, something he didn't have.
He was growing angry and frustrated. Nothing EVER went his way, he could never catch a break. Bad luck was what got him in his current position. He jabbed the stick in the barrel, pushing the contents down as far as he could. Maybe a breath of oxygen would reach a glowing ember and start something... Anything.
He never noticed the stick thrumming with power in his hand, responding to his anger and frustration. As the stick responded to his feelings, he responded to the stick; the two were feeding off each other until the stick had a bright blue aura and the man's vision was red with rage.
It was then that he found the glowing ember. While prodding through the refuse in the barrel he had shifted the contents. And as the oxygen found the ember, the new flame found the gasoline soaked rags that had been previously under some wet leaves. The rags burst into flames quite nicely, also setting off some rusty, weakened aerosol cans.
The small chain reaction sent a blast of fire directly into the man's face and blew the barrel to bits. The man, engulfed in flames and shredded by hot, flying debris, never saw the stick flare with a blinding light.
It was most assuredly a perfect day. The sun shone brightly, offsetting the cool air. A soft breeze ruffled his hair in a rather dashing manner he thought. There were some things in life that words could not do justice, so he settled on simply walking and enjoying the weather.
People in Tokyo are used to seeing strange things, as are people in most big cities. But what looked to be a giant hammerhead shark with tentacles and four eyes flying over the city was just a bit too much. So people did what they normally did in such a situation: they ran through the streets screaming. It never seemed to do much good, but no one had ever come up with a better plan.
The creature soared overhead, smashing buildings when they got in the way. It roared and growled, two sounds that shattered glass. It swooped down, not far from the heads of the screaming people. None of them were quite right though.
It made it's way out of downtown Tokyo and into the surrounding areas. Specifically towards Nerima.
Reports of a flying fish monster were spreading out from Tokyo in all directions, most quickly and easily by television. One of those televisions happened to be in the Tendo home. And Soun had been watching it as the news report came on.
"Where's Akane?" Soun was in hysterics, running around the house with tears pouring from his eyes. "Where's my daughter when there's a vicious monster loose?" He was hopeless. As usual.
"Now, now, Tendo. I'm sure you have nothing to fear. Ranma was with her and can protect her from any monster no matter how..." Genma looked at the TV and saw the video of the monster. "No matter how flying it may be." Genma gamely patted Soun's shoulder.
Soun's tears dried. "You're right, Saotome. The two will be..."
"Yo, Kasumi! Can I get some hot water?"
"Of course, Ranma. I have some ready now." Kasumi walked out of the kitchen to greet Ranma with a steaming kettle.
Genma and Soun were still frozen in position, Soun's mouth hanging open.
"Thanks, Kasumi. I needed that." Ranma had returned to his more natural male form. "Yo, Pop," Ranma said, approaching the two men. "I still can't believe you engaged me to that uncute macho chick."
With that said, Soun burst into fresh tears.
"Ranma!" Genma yelled.
"What, Pop?"
"You left your fiancee out there with that monster!?"
"Monster? Pop, what are you talkin' about?"
Genma gestured wildly to the TV. "That!"
Ranma watched with interest the latest news reports.
Akane walked down the street, her anger building, strengthened by her sadness. Damn that Ranma! His stupid macho pride prevented him from being civil. She didn't expect him to be nice, but he couldn't even be CIVIL. She growled and kicked a stone, imagining it to be Ranma's head.
She walked past the shops, the stalls and carts, the restaurants and cafes. The walking seemed to relieve her anger somewhat, but Ranma's last insult was the straw that broke the camel's back. There hadn't been any call for it, but he just couldn't stop himself from being a jerk.
"I'm just waiting for the two of them to break out into a fist fight. I know it's going to happen one of these days. And when it does, I'll have photos approximately an hour later."
The other girls giggled. They had been having a good gossip/business session in the small cafe, and just generally having a nice time. That was the thing most people didn't know about Nabiki Tendo: you just had to get to know her. Well, that and don't ever put your own money into her hands.
"And look what we have shaping up here," she said, her interest turning to the huge window that gave a view of the entire street. To one extreme of her vision was Akane, and she looked upset. To the other extreme was Kuno, looking dense. "We should see a little action here."
Little did they know...
"If it isn't the beauteous Akane Tendo. The sun can hardly compete with your beauty this glorious day."
Just what she needed. If he touched her, he would find himself in a world of hurt, even for Kuno. "Leave me alone, Kuno. I'm not in the mood," she said angrily, preparing to march past him.
Kuno was quick with his declaration of love though, and he thrust a bouquet of red roses in Akane's face. "Of course, we may proceed with our date later." He moved to intercept her as she tried to make her way around him. "But for now, know that as the sun rises and sets, so shall my love for you grow."
Akane had given up trying to go around him and stood with her arms crossed. She was annoyed, but not to the point of violence. Yet. Kuno seemed content to hand her flowers and babble, which was fine for a time, and he seemed to be wrapping up.
"And so, as the sand passes through the hourglass, now must I pass you on my way to achieve a higher goal. Though you must know that I have no higher goal than to express my undying love for you." He struck a heroic pose for Akane.
"Thank you, Kuno-sempai." Akane stepped past Kuno and continued walking down the street.
Kuno broke his pose and turned, befuddled, to watch Akane walk away. She was a true mystery to him, even greater than that of the pig-tailed girl. Akane's reactions to him were... unpredictable. Never could he be sure when she would react with violence or understanding. Her love for him was no doubt like the moon: ever present, yet hidden. He sighed.
He was about to continue on his business when the screams started behind him. He spun around and froze in horror. Closing in on him, dropping from the sky, was a great beast of unknown origins. His paralysis broke as a group of screaming pedestrians ran towards him.
Kuno brought forth his bokken and held it in front of him, as if it would protect him against the monster. "Akane Tendo! You must flee lest you be trampled like the delicate spring buds!" he shouted, hoping she could hear him.
Akane had heard the screams as well and was caught by fright. She couldn't take her eyes from the monster that was bearing down on Kuno. It was mottled gray, it's hide shimmering in the sunlight. There were six suckered tentacles hanging from its belly, casually knocking over anything they came into contact with.
The long, sleek body ended in a whip-like tail that thrashed back and forth angrily. The head, which was much wider than the body, was flat, and at each end was an eye. Next to each eye was another eye. Each of them rolled independently, taking in the view of the street.
They seemed to focus on Kuno for a moment, then a black hole filled with serrated spikes opened. The head almost seemed to split in half as a screech erupted forth, shattering windows.
It shook Akane from her fright as well. "Kuno! Run!" Akane screamed. She took two steps towards Kuno. "Run!"
Nabiki and her friends had ducked under the table when the monster had come into view, and had avoided the flying glass as the window broke.
Nabiki lifted her head upon hearing Akane's screams and was barely able to contain her own cries. Not more than twenty feet away stood Kuno, covered in the shadow of the monster.
"Kuno-chan! You moron! Run!"
In response, his head turned slowly; Nabiki could see the calm on his face.
She could see the calm, she could hear Akane scream, she could hear her own scream as Kuno was partially engulfed by the black hole. Then the black hole closed with a sickening crunch. The haft of a snapped bokken flew past Nabiki's head and embedded itself in the wall.
Time seemed to slow for Akane. She watched the monster close it's maw on the defenseless Kuno, who had his head turned. The upper half of Kuno's body disappeared, to be replaced by a fountain of blood. Horror washed over Akane as she watched half of Kuno's bokken go flying. Her eyes were wide as she watched as one of his... She fought back the bile as she saw a bloody forearm drop to the ground.
Then time stopped and she felt something, a tickling, in her stomach. Not nausea, more like she had eaten something too spicy. Her head started to pound and there was a ringing noise she could hear from far away. The blood pulsing through her temples seemed to quicken, and then the world went black.
Nabiki covered her mouth, her stomach revolting at the sight of the blood. She couldn't take her eyes off the carnage, couldn't get the crunching sound out of her mind, to see her sister engulfed in her familiar blue aura. Nabiki's eyes widened further as the beast opened its mouth, one of the eyes focussed on her, and released Kuno's body.
The husk that used to be Kuno hit the ground with a splat, sending blood spattering everywhere. Finally Nabiki did throw up, her entire body shaking. She would have nightmares about Kuno's crushed and torn body lying in a puddle of blood, nightmares about what used to be Kuno moving weakly.
Akane's aura had intensified, taken on a life of its own. It was so powerful that Akane was actually floating. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and her mouth was hanging open. Briefly, her aura flared, and a blaze of light shot from her forehead. It wasn't just from her forehead though, but from an opening in her forehead, like a third eye.
Akane's aura pulsed from blue to white as the eye opened fully. The eye itself was rather plain looking, just like an ordinary eye. Ordinary, that is, save for the silvery glow it had and the beam of light it was casting on Kuno's body.
At that point, something separated itself from the young man's destroyed body. To the onlookers it appeared to be a silvery orb floating in the air. To those sensitive enough, the energy, the life force within could be felt. There was much more to the orb than the ordinary eye could see.
The orb floated lazily to Akane, traveling along the beam of silver light. The monster had backed away with all four eyes trained on Akane. It made no move towards her and seemed to actually be retreating.
The orb had reached Akane and, like smoke passing through cheesecloth, went into her third eye. With that done, the beast flew off, high into the sky, and disappeared.
Akane's aura pulsed again, returning to blue, and her third eye began to close, its silvery light extinguished. Fully closed, the eye was invisible on Akane's forehead, and her aura faded. She floated back down to the ground where her body crumpled.
Nabiki scrambled out of the ruined cafe and pushed her way through the small crowd around Akane. She crouched by her sister and did a cursory examination. Thank goodness Akane was only unconscious with no external injuries. "Someone call an ambulance!" she yelled. There was no telling what kind of internal injuries might be present.
She kneeled protectively over Akane, unwilling to let anyone get too close to her sister. She shrugged off a hand on her shoulder and shut out the murmuring. The hand was on her shoulder again, though; why wouldn't they just give her some room? She turned angrily, ready to share some harsh words with the insensitive clod, and froze.
"Nabiki Tendo, how fairs your rapturous sister?"
Nabiki's brain stopped functioning at full capacity then. "You're dead," came out of her mouth without any effort by her.
"Why, I am as hale and hearty as the mighty oak." Kuno peered at her. "It appears that you, however, have been robbed of precious sleep. Are you feeling well?"
Nabiki looked past what she thought was a hallucination to where Kuno should have been splayed out. There was a lot of blood and half a bokken, but no Kuno. "You're dead," she repeated, staring at Kuno. He did seem to be healthy, ripped clothing aside.
Kuno felt suddenly self-conscious. Why was Nabiki staring at him? Why had she said that he was dead, and twice? He had never felt healthier. Even after that monster had... He looked down at himself, noting his tattered clothes. Ah well, it must have been a mere flesh wound.
Updated 6-20-99