So, if you're reading this on the day it's posted, you're probably wondering why I'd start a sequel before part one is even finished. All I can say is:
I couldn't help myself.
As of this writing, Baku, Ra, to Ringu is only at ch.46/47. Therefore, so as not to give anything away, This first chapter features Original Characters. The YGO/Gravitation kyara will be along shortly (whoever survives part one).
So please to enjoy. There are several directions this could take, feel free to voice your wishes and expectations in a review.
Let's begin, shall we?
Zero.
Chapter One
Dead Baby
He was an exchange student from America-- people had expected him to be loud and obnoxious, the typical "Ugly American".
They were surprised at the boy's soft voice and humble demeanor. He had perfect attendance at Domino High School. He never made a ruckus in class; he got straight A's. He never raised his voice in class or after class was done.
He didn't say a thing when some of the bigger kids started teasing him. Oddly enough, the bullying didn't last long.
One day, the bullies did not come to school. It was later whispered among students that the boys in question had been hospitalized with various injuries-- bruises, concussions, broken bones-- and all claimed to not remember what had happened to them. They stopped teasing the American after that.
Although everyone looked at Ezra differently after that incident, he never changed and he never really came out of his shell.
It was late December, 2005. Ezra had spent the day at the library. It was evening. He came home to his modest apartment hungry and tired.
He came in and things were as he'd left them-- the lights were on, and the radio was set to a station that played American oldies. He liked to come home to this instead of a dark, empty apartment.
He set down the books he'd checked out on the diningroom table he used as a desk, then toed off his workshoes and went to the bathroom.
He used the toilet and washed up, then went to take out his contact lenses, cursing himself for not doing this first, because now he had traces of soap on his fingertips. He always forgot.
His tinted contacts made his eyes look a smoky blue which went best with his fluffy blonde hair. He pinched its surface and pulled it out, then placed it in its container with the other one. Now his eyes could rest. He sighed, looking at his true eye color in the mirror. He liked them. They looked like gold. Unfortunately, gold-colored eyes were very unusual, even moreso in Japan, so he'd felt the need to blend in.
He perked as he heard the opening strains of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" playing in the livingroom. He ran and turned up the volume, then went into the kitchen to find some dinner.
It was 9:30 when he'd finally finished his homework. School was his top priority; if he didn't maintain his grades he would be deported. Pulling away from his desk, he sighed, rubbing his eyes, then put his papers into his schoolbag and went to the livingroom.
He had a DVR console and satellite TV. He'd missed the last few episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, and now, he finally had the time to catch up.
Dropping himself gratefully into the cushy recliner, he snatched the remote off the lamp table at his side and hit the power button.
The DVR menu made him blink. There was Fullmetal Alchemist, and below that, a few other favorite shows-- Charmed, CSI, Naruto... However, at the very top of the list was a show Ezra definitely did not set to record:
12/18/05 : 3:35 am - 3:38 am : Dead Baby.
There was no plot synopsis.
He couldn't stop staring at the tiny white title. After a few seconds, he swallowed hard and snapped out of his trance. He placed the cursor over delete and pushed enter.
The screen blinked, but the show was not deleted.
He pressed the button again and again, because that was the only thing he could think of.
He clicked his tongue. "Stupid piece of shit..."
The power went out.
He froze in the jet black shroud that had suddenly dropped over him, beads of sweat popping out all over his skin. Before he could get up to find a flashlight, the room was aglow again. The TV was on.
The ring shone brightly against a jet-black background. Ezra recognized it instantly.
"Oh, shit!" He jumped out of his chair and ran out the front door to avoid seeing the entire cursed feature.
He closed the door and rested his butt against, it, hunched over, catching his breath. He'd recently seen Ringu 2, and they'd said it was okay if you only saw the well, whatever that meant.
It's a trick. Or maybe a glitch. But all I saw was the ring. I didn't watch it all, so it's okay, right?
He straightened, leaning his head against the door, staring at the underside of the balconey above him. He sighed.
Wait a minute. It's just a movie. Ringu, The Ring, The Ring Virus, Rasen, Ringu 0, and so forth and so forth. It's a movie. A franchise. Oh, man.
"Someone's playing a prank on me," he said aloud, trying to convince himself. He stepped toward the railing and gripped it, gazing out over the rain-soaked parking lot, not really seeing it.
"It's just a prank. There's no curse. This is the real world. No curses, or spirits, or evil ghost girls." He didn't believe a word of it.
He looked at his door again. It looked completely banal.
He sweatdropped and blew out a big sigh. I'll have to go back in eventually. All my stuff's in there.
He went in.
Inside was a hallway leading down to the livingroom. The lights were off, but the TV was still glowing. He heard that godawful sound and gulped.
skree, skreee... skree, skreee...
"No one's in there," he whispered to himself. "It's just a weird TV show created by a glitch in my DVR. No one's in there."
From right behind him came a genderless hiss:
"Then why are you whispering?"
He actually felt a cold breath against his earlobe.
"WAAAAAAGGHHH! AAAAUUGHH!"
The landlady came out of her apartment and spotted the source of the ruckus right away-- one of her tenants was running around, screaming his head off, like an idiot.
He came running and as he passed, she held her cane up just in time to catch his forehead.
BAM. He went down.
He cowered against the doorframe, rubbing his new welt, catching his breath.
The landlady stood over him, completely cool. "Tell me what happened."
He kept his head low. "I'm sorry, Ms. Yoshikawa. I didn't mean to raise a ruckus. Please don't evict me."
She smiled. "I've had wilder tenants than you. Don't worry about that. Do you need help?"
He looked up at her, tears in his eyes, and shook his head.
"Well, at least come inside and have some nice cookies."
"Umm, no thanks... You know what? I think I'll go stay at a friend's house."
Ezra had been charmed the moment he'd laid eyes on Megumi's house. It was small by American standards, and its design was unmistakably traditional Japanese, with tatami mat floors and sliding doors of rice paper, and a classic Japanese garden in the back. Megumi sometimes insinuated that Ezra only loved him for his house, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Relief washed over him as soon as the door slid open and he saw Megumi's face.
"Megs..." He took half a step towards him, intending to hug him.
"Tst!" His eyes shifted to the side. His parents were home.
"Oh."
Megumi stepped aside and let Ezra in. "It's good to see you, Ez'ra San."
As Megumi led the way to his room, Ezra paused to bow to Megumi's parents.
"Kon bon wa."
They gave him the usual stony-eyed glare. Megumi's father hated Americans. As far as they knew, Megumi was Ezra's mentor.
They laid two futons on the floor, a good six feet apart. They let the parents see this. Then the parents went to bed and they closed the door.
Ezra climbed under the comforter with Megumi, snuggling into his embrace.
"Now you can tell me what happened."
Ezra blinky-blinked and gazed into Megumi's coquettish jet-black eyes.
"What scared you?"
"It was nothing. I just saw something scary on TV."
"You should stop watching things that disturb you. It's as if you're addicted to fear."
He smiled. "Maybe I just like to wind up in your arms."
They kissed softly, deeply.
Hours later, Ezra woke, covered in sweat, trembling. He'd had a nightmare.
All he could remember was a flash-- witnessing the torturous rape of a child.
He reached for Megumi.
Megumi was gone.
Gasping, he sat up. Megumi had moved to the other futon, on the other side of the room. Ezra felt a pang of rejection.
A chill swept over him. Goosebumps popped out over his arms, shoulders, and necks as he hugged himself.
The doors were open-- not the doors to the hallway, but the other doors which led to the back porch overlooking the garden. He got up to close them.
As he grasped them, something caught his eye-- a human form. He looked up.
There was a person standing by the koi pond. He recognized the silhouette.
He walked over to her.
As he approached, she became clearer and he saw shackles on her wrists and ankles. They were attached to thick iron chains which went into the water.
She'll be dragged under, he thought. Just then, the chains went taut and pulled her off her feet.
He ran, and caught her wrists. He saw her eyes wide with fear.
"I've got you! Hang on!"
He knew what was pulling her. He refused to let go!
Suddenly he was thrown backwards. He thought for a moment that he'd won. Then he looked down.
All he held were her arms, the flesh at her shoulders torn away with the rest of her.
"Wake up! RaChan!"
A hand slapped him hard across the face.
Ezra opened his eyes and found himself laying in Megumi's arms.
"RaChan." He squeezed him.
His pulse was racing, his skin hot and clammy. His chest hurt. He fought to get his breathing back to normal.
"Oh, Megs, I had such an awful nightmare..."
He sat up and gasped, looking around.
He was in the backyard, next to the koi pond. Everything was covered by a pristine blanket of December snow. The koi pond had been emptied for the season.
"Oh. I was sleepwalking..."
"Yes, you were," Megumi said.
And let's not worry about how you got from my room, across the yard, and to the pond without leaving footprints in the snow.
one
dead baby
finish