I don't own Ranma
Rumiko Takahashi
Is the genius there
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As the final blow landed, Ranma sank to his knees in defeat.
"Pathetic," spat the warrior as he drew near. He took a mighty swing and sent Ranma sliding on his back. Ranma looked around at the others, all watching anxiously, and smiled. At least they cared...
Slowly, his eyes slid shut. He managed to whisper, "Sorry... everyone..." and then fell silent.
Akane moved closer, trying to get his attention. "Ranma." No answer. "Ranma? ...RAAAANMAAAA!!!" She shook him, beat on his chest, slapped his cheek, but the boy didn't respond.
Ryoga stood in stunned silence, watching the scene before him as his mind filled with a new kind of horror. It couldn't... shouldn't... wasn't going to end like this. He wouldn't let it. As the armored man approached once more, Ryoga found himself moving to meet him. He would end this, here and now.
But maybe I should back up a little.
It was a perfectly ordinary day for Ranma Saotome. And of course, by "perfectly ordinary", I mean "people keep trying to kill him". Today he was in the mountains, fighting his fiercest rival.
"Prepare to die, Ranma!" Ryoga Hibiki yelled, his face contorted with rage. He charged, one finger extended, to perform his signature Breaking Point technique. Unfortunately, three things prevented this from working.
First, Ranma was faster than Ryoga.
Second, Ranma had seen this technique many, many times before.
Third, Ryoga still hadn't figured out that the Breaking Point didn't work on humans.
As Ranma dodged effortlessly, Ryoga's attacks became more furious. Suddenly, Ranma hesitated, and realized three things.
First, in order to dodge Ryoga's attacks, he needed room to move.
Second, his back was currently against the base of a cliff.
Third, Ryoga was smarter than he had given him credit for.
Seeing this, Ryoga couldn't resist pausing to crow in triumph, "I've got you now!"
This regrettable decision would be his undoing. He lunged forward, yelling "Bakusai Tengetsu!", and Ranma, having had an extra moment to regain his senses, ducked out of the way. For good measure the pigtailed boy quickly struck back with a sweeping kick, which knocked Ryoga off-balance. His face and finger slammed into the rock, which crumbled away a second later.
"Nice try," Ranma taunted as Ryoga whirled to face him, "but you still can't..." here he trailed off, as something was amiss. Ryoga gave him a questioning look, but Ranma simply stared at the indentation behind him.
It sure was a deep indentation. In fact, Ranma couldn't see all the way inside. It wasn't really an indentation at all; more like a hole. Maybe even a cavern, if you wanted to be liberal about it. Ranma didn't really care what it was called, as far as he was concerned you could paint it and call it a nook, but the point was it was deep. Finally Ryoga looked as well, and, glancing from Ranma to the hole, took a few steps toward the darkness.
"Did you do that?" Ranma asked. Ryoga simply shook his head in response. The Breaking Point technique had never done anything like this before. Slowly he stepped inside, looking back with a challenge in his eyes, and Ranma followed him into the suffocating darkness.
After they had gone some distance along a narrow, curving path, the opening widened, and a faint light could be seen just ahead. This was peculiar, as no daylight could reach this far in. Instead the stone itself seemed to be giving off light. As Ryoga approached the back of the cavern, he fell face-first to the ground. He had tripped over something, but he couldn't see what it was in the darkness. Whatever it was, it stretched across the area, and came about halfway up to his knees. Ranma, having this advance warning, stepped over it, and, standing directly on top of Ryoga's head, examined the glowing wall. "Hey, there's something written here," he said. "Let's see..."
Sleeping stones awake
Reuniting the circle
The five warriors
"Sleeping stones? What's this all about?"
"Mmf mmfmf."
"Huh? Oh, sorry 'bout that, Ryoga."
"Mmmfmfmm."
Ranma hopped aside, and Ryoga stood and took a look at the inscription himself. Immediately, a voice echoed from the entrance.
"You shouldn't be in here, son-in-law."
Both boys whirled about to see the elderly Cologne stepping inside. "This is a place of evil, one that I hoped nobody would ever find, and I certainly never expected to be living so close to it."
"Whaddya mean, y'old ghoul?" Ranma asked, sitting on the object Ryoga had tr-
"Don't sit there!" she screeched. "Come on, let's go back to town. I'll tell you about it at the cafe."
Ranma followed her out of the cavern, and Ryoga paused momentarily to look back. A chill ran down his spine as he left. He was still curious about that inscription, but now he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
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Okay! It's fanfiction time! This is something I've been trying to do for a long time, but I keep forgetting every idea I have within twenty-four hours. Please do review, I've got a long way to go.