On my deathbed… maybe!

Rel1.2

By Pizzigri

Disclaimer: Urusei Yatsura and all regular characters from UY series are copyright Rumiko Takahashi.

...


...

Famzine system.

Mr. Invader shifts uncomfortably on his office chair, staring at the massive amount of paperwork in front of him.

Piles and piles of reports, memos, authorization requests and contracts sit on his desk, the aftermath of a successful campaign.

But the Oni Warlord can't keep his mind from wandering back to the Onigokko challenge.

Possessed by the Art, Lum had brutally overexerted her body's capabilities, pushing herself beyond every limit and reaching the point of no return, over which she may have died from the massive damage of burning so much energy all at once. Ran saved her as well, placing her in a controlled coma.

Since he escorted his unconscious daughter to the medical quarters aboard the Fleet's main Star Carrier, he's been unable to visit her. At first, it was because of the many duties he, as Warlord, had to attend in the immediate wake of Uruseian victory.

Then, Lum had been transferred to a hospital ship heading back to Oniboshi, while he had to stay with his fleet.

On the same ship, the best UDF medical teams had taken care of Ataru. Immediately placed in a drug induced coma, and after massive surgical reconstruction, the young man slowly healed in a special Regeneration tank.

Pacing nervously in his office like a great cat in a cage, Mr. invader spares one last glance at the gradually smaller purple orb dominating the view from the window.

I sincerely hope this is the last time I have to look at this mudball, he thinks to himself.

A subdued but perfectly clear voice is broadcast thru the PA system: " All hands, prepare stations for jump in six standard subunits".

The great ship prepares to enter subspace, followed by most of Third Fleet. It's time to head back home.

Invader sits down again, reminiscing Lum's birth and early years.

Heh… Lum, what a handful you've been… not that you're any different today!

The corners of his mouth twist upwards slightly, in a wicked smirk.

Funny to think about it, Invader muses to himself. You're next in line. I would have preferred a son, but it seems that the Holy Dragons didn't have it in their hearts to grant me my wish.

A female Warlord… An unprecedented event, in the modern history of the Uruseian Federation. It took years, to bribe, corrupt or strong arm the Elders Circle's members, one by one, into accepting it. Mr. Invader was so sure his firstborn would have been a male… and then, despite everything he and Mrs. Invader have done to have more babies… Lum remained the Warlord's only child.

Standing perfectly still, Invader ponders his situation. An unspoken doubt has been nagging the great Oni Warlord's mind since his daughter's birth.

My only child. And looking so much like your mother… And with your mother's Art, too… a gift that only a handful of Oni have, and they're all well far and apart.

Can't be a coincidence, can it? As it certainly can't be a coincidence that I met your mother only weeks before the leading families agreement… using her Art to ensnare me, just in time to avoid a very probable arranged wedding with old Kasu's little daughter.

And my uncompromised love for you… and for your mother… has always prevented me to take action and investigate into it.

Mr. Invader grits his teeth, breathing in sharply, and looking down to his large, clawed hands, feels bile rising.

But, that is a luxury I cannot afford any longer.

Steeling himself, he growls "Bara!"

The aide's voice echoes from a communication device on Invader's desk: "Yes Boss!"

"I… need the Lambda Files."

"Holy Swamps, Boss… are you sure?"

"I want the folder in my hands before we jump!"

"Aye. I'll be in your office in two."


...

Oniboshi.

Lum cannot control her happiness. Darling is alive! He woke up! After she was forced out of Ataru's room by the hospital's intensive care response team, twenty-four hours ago, a newfound energy pervaded her.

Burying her guilt trip – Ataru IS OK, after all… she pondered the situation with a somewhat cool mind.

There's one single person I really, really have to thank for Darling's life…Ran. Oh, Ran…

The redhead managed to avoid any contact with Lum since landing on Oniboshi, but now, Lum knows where she hides, thanks to a casual call to a family friend that just happens to be in charge of the Uruseian Government's Intelligence Agency.

Giggling and bouncing lightly on the inconspicuous path under very tall trees deep in the forest right next to Rei's family dwelling, she finally stops in front of Ran's pink spacecraft.

Lum rings the doorbell, hovering a few inches above the crude steps that lead to the airlock.

"Ran! Ran, please open! I KNOW you're in, so open the door!"

A surprised Ran reluctantly allows Lum in her spaceship. She's very embarrassed.

"Ran! Darling's alive, he woke up! You saved him! I… how can I even begin to thank you? What can I do…?"

"Ah… I…"

"Come on, Ran! You know that I can do anything! With Dad's help, I can-"

"Do nothing. You can do nothing, for me, Lum."

Ran's tone and demeanor changes radically, turning cold and bitter.

"But… I… Please-"

Ran locks her eyes with Lum.

"Lum-chan, I don't know why I did it, it was on the whim of the moment. I did not do it for Darling, and sure as hell I didn't do it for you."

"I don't believe you, Ran. I cannot believe you! Not after what you said moments before I lost sanity."

"I lied. Oh wait. Maybe I remember… yes, if Darling died, it would be impossible for little Ran-chan to obtain a revenge on you, don't you agree?"

"But…"

"We are not even, dear Lum-chan. Ran-chan still hates you for what YOU did to me and Rei-kun. He is, oh, but mere feet from here, in the house, but to little Ran-chan he's so far off as if he was light years away, and he will still take ages to recover from your… infatuation. None the less he WILL recover. I will spend my life, if necessary, to heal him."

Her tone takes a derisive tint as Ran smirks.

"You know? He doesn't moo your name to the moon anymore… you bitch."

Lum feels a huge load of guilt churning her stomach.

Ran's crimson eyes shoot daggers to Lum, and proudly shrills:

"Little Ran-chan still believes Lum-chan to be my enemy!"

She adds, in a much lower tone, almost a whisper, looking away again

"…Ran-chan's beloved and dearest enemy…"

Tears roll down on her cheek.

A huge battle rages secretly within her heart.

She turns again to Lum, and pushes her away.

"Now, get lost! Leave me alone! What the hell are you still doing here? Why did you come here in the first place!"

Lum finds herself pushed out of the airlock, followed by shouts and insults.

The heavy door slams shut in her face, cutting all Ran's screaming.

Oyuki materializes next to her in a gust of freezing wind and a flurry of snow, startling the Oni woman.

"Ramu-chan, Ran needs time. What she did may be incomprehensible to herself, but holds no secret to me. Ran is a tormented soul, a spirit destined to suffer deeply in order to be reborn as a bright, shining star of beauty and love. Ran, our Ran-chan, will someday reawake."

"Oyuki, I… I feel so bad, for what I did to her… and Rei, I always despised him after he, he ate my pendant, but I did not realize, and she…"

"Yes, Ramu-chan. But, of course, we will not allow Ran-chan's everyday regrettable behavior to tarnish her own generous deed. We will help her… I have to amend for my contempt and blindness towards her as well."

Behind the door, Ran spies the girls disappearing in a small vortex of snowflakes.

Balling her fist to the point on drawing blood, cutting herself with her fingernails, she grits her teeth, her face flushed as tears streak her cheeks. Wailing, she slams her fists on the wall, and then picks up a chair throwing it across the room, screaming.

"I… I made a mistake! I should not have saved him… I should have left him to die! Lum, you… bitch! Why, why do I have to suffer… so much…"

Falling to her knees, Ran covers her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

I… want her to suffer… as I do.

A dark light shines in her crimson eyes.

"Darling, little Ran-chan's coming to visit you…"

...

...

"A visit? For me?"

The nurse steps to the side of the door, and a very curvaceous girl with short, fire red hair and glittering red ruby eyes appears in the doorframe, speaking a perfect Japanese.

HOLY SHIT! What a Babe!

"Good afternoon, Mr. Moroboshi, Sir. We need to take a thorough check of..."

"Beautiful angel! Pray tell me, what is your name?" In an instant he's all over her, his face nuzzling between her breast, beaming wildly.

She does not react to his -quite heavy!- hug and through feel on her body.

Ataru stops, surprised. The girl does not slap him, she does not escape, nor seems annoyed at all by his avances.

A gentle, if somewhat disapproving, smile appears on her face.

"Lali. My name is Lali, Sir. I am flattered by your attentions, Sir, but I am not an Angel, only a Q'aari native Doctor, and, sadly, I am also unable to help relieve your desire, though I may be tempted to… indulge."

Seeing him at loss, she adds.

"Sir, I am sorry, I do find you mildly attractive and the nature of my race is… quite liberal –we ARE lifeforce vampires after all- , but I sincerely believe Miss Invader would have me executed for even thinking…"

Her face blushes. And then continues.

"Now, now. Please get back into your bed, while we wait for the Head Physician staff with the diagnostics gear."

Only minutes afterwards, a male Oni doctor with a nurse comes in holding an instrument with a shoulder strap that looks like something out of Star Trek.

He extracts a small cylindrical medical scanner from a receptacle in the lower half of the black device sort of resembling a 1970 vintage tape cassette deck, and passes it in front of Ataru's face. The small scanner emits sorts of a whining.

Amused, Ataru thinks to himself, Yeah, very Trekky. Megane would love this.

"Ok, Mr. Moroboshi, the Tricorder's response on your vitals is perfectly within limits. I am suspending the sedatives and all treatment. Tonight at most, you will be allowed to leave the premises. I will report to the Administrative office to take care of your insurance paperwork and to have them call your sponsor family to pick you up. Lali, please take care of the questionnaire."

"Yes. Thank you, Doctor, I'll meet you down at the cafeteria in half, OK?"

"Sure thing, Lali. See you."

Lali dismisses all the staff and remains alone with Ataru.

She sits down, crossing her legs next to his bed, a datapadd in her hands.

"So, Mr. Moroboshi, Sir, just a few questions before I'll leave you to rest. Do you have any discomfort in any part of your body, specifically, neck, chest, armpits, pelvic or groin areas?"

"Oh, Ohh, yeah, I've got a HUGE discomfort right over here!"

Ataru smiles predatorily for a second, until the girl hits him on the nose with her pen.

"Ow! What the-"

"Mr. Moroboshi, Sir, those are locations of the major lymphatic nodes on the Earth Human body, and not a map of your most erogenous zones", she calmly scolds.

"Ah, well, ok then… I'll tell you if you give me your phone number and address-"

"Mr. Moroboshi…" she cutely pouts.

"But, but,you said that you find me irresistibly attractive!"

"That was mildly attractive, and still, I don't want to risk my contract here so soon…"

"Aw, come on, just a kiss? One liddle, liddle tiny kissy?"

Ataru leans towards the redheaded girl, copping a feel of her… assets for a couple of seconds, until she stands up, and Ataru falls to the floor, slamming face first on the hard tiles.

"On second thought, Mr. Moroboshi, Sir, I sincerely believe that the answers to all my questions are… perfectly positive. You have recovered magnificently! So, please excuse me."

"Lali-chan! Wait! Your…"

The door effortlessly slides shut, leaving Ataru, sprawled on the floor, alone again.

"…phone number and address."

...

Rejection

Hours later, Ataru wakes up as another man, late in the afternoon, judging by the golden light coming from the glass wall.

The TV set drones quietly in the background, a source of utter boredom.

Gods, why the hell don't they have at least one porn channel? Ataru wonders, turning it off.

He finds the room silent and empty. Invigorated, his muscles again in their prime, the machines around him are silent and a soft light is lit next to his bed.

For the first time since the challenge, he can think clearly, his mind again as sharp as it has always been.

Wow. I feel as if nothing ever happened.

He's captured for a few instants by the beautiful sunset that filters through the slightly shaded transparent wall.

The reflection of a beautiful and very, very sexy, short haired redheaded girl appears on the glass, as Ataru smiles dreamily at the memory of the Q'aari doctor that visited him a few hours ago.

"Uhh… what a body…"

And if it wasn't for Lum, maybe she'd have…

The redhead morphs into an equally gorgeous green haired Oni girl, beaming him with a fanged smile.

Uh…Lum. Yeah…

Thinking about Lum…

What is Lum, to me?

Sure, I love her. But…

Just his luck. Falling madly in love with an alien, embodiment of the most terrifying demon in Japanese tradition.

Both loving and brutal, cruel and caring. Yin and Yang in perfect balance, but equally expressed by extreme actions and incredibly strong emotions. He cannot think about the soothing tenderness of her touch, without wincing at the pain she likewise carelessly inflicts, not holding back. Her eyes, so incredibly expressive, capable to convey the blindest worship and love, and at the same time express the deepest, utmost loathing and hatred. Her body, an overwhelming sexual temptation and…

Ataru shakes his head.

What a bitch. I can't believe it, but I… love her. Yeah, I, I love her.

He slips off the bed, standing up. No aftereffect, no dizziness, no nothing.

Yeah! I really feel great!

Now… What I really would like to know, is why all this happened.

A chime sounds, and a nurse opens the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Moroboshi. Miss Lum Invader is here to…"

Lum storms in.

"Darling! Oh, Darling!"

Lum glares viciously at the nurse. Paling visibly, she immediately flees the room.

"Lum-chan! Gods, you're here! I wanted to… you have to explain…"

Lum wears a tigerstriped Cheongsam dress. Stunning in her simple elegance, Lum drinks all details of her Darling.

"L-let me look at you. My… you have completely recovered! I am so happy, Darling!" She slightly quivers.

His smile dies and Ataru stammers as an alien and cold, overwhelming pressure showers over him, ramming in his mind.

"Oh, Darling! Don't speak now! Please, just hold me!"

She swamps him.

Her scent is incredible.

His head feels dizzy, rationality crumbles as a mad desire spawns in his mind. Controlling himself seems impossible for a second, the idea of tearing all her clothes off and taking her flashing in his mind.

Just like by that smashed window in the restaurant at the top of a downtown skyscraper… eons ago.

His mind clouded by her presence, and not trusting himself, he pushes her away, shouting.

"LUM!"

She has a confused, hurt expression, like a child that a cruel adult has taken candy away from.

Ataru is so dazed he does not realize the misunderstanding, and does not notice her reaction.

"Lum. Oh gods… what is this? What are you doing to me? I… I want to know. A-are you, like, influencing me? With your… power, eh, Art, I mean."

"I… don't understand… Darling, I… you don't want me…?"

He finally looks up to her face.

Her eyes. Gods, her eyes!

Again the desire, the confusion. "L-Lum, look, I have a need for you, that is so deep, so great, I am afraid it is not right!"

Even as the words come out, Ataru regrets saying them.

No! No! That's not what I mean!

A vortex of slurry thoughts blur his mind.

"I mean, you trapped me… no, uh, that you… dominate me… "

Words cannot be voiced, the pressure is so great.

I want to say that you conquered me! Even if you used -use your spell on me, it doesn't matter! That I am in love! Tell her, tell her that I love her!

She recoils, feeling rejected, denied. Totally speechless. The pain in her face is so physical that he feels as if he raped her- and not the other way round!

Her tearing eyes reflect the shattered soul within.

All of a sudden, his mind clears. He immediately realizes it is the Art, thankfully fading.

Guilt hits him with the force of a waterfall of ice, gripping hard his chest. Words are hard to speak with a completely dry throat.

"No, wait Lum, I mean…"

She disappears in an instant, flying back in the corridor. Yells, and glass ware breaking in the distance.

"Lum! LUM! Please, come back!"

No, no, no, no… why does she always ruin everything, why… why did she use her Art…?

Nothing makes sense… It's not my fault! She used the Art! No… that is not the point. Is it?

And then, "Her" words echo in Ataru's mind.

"The Art does not work on who already loves. The Art will only make love deeper, but not make a lie real love."

The solution is so simple Ataru can't help but slam his head against the wall.

Shit! It's my fault. I'm fighting it! Opposing the Art, resisting it's influence, 'cause I can't let go of my habits… of my girlhunts an' flirts and my dreams of a harem… and that conflict causes the Art to do funny stuff in my head. Can't be anything else…

He bitterly voices the rest of his thoughts aloud to himself.

"It's not because she used the Art… it's me. I'm still thinking about hitting on a pretty girl, in HER turf, with herself out of the door waiting, after who knows what she's been through. An' I do this even after I know I owe her my life, since her people saved my butt…"

"No, Darling, I did that."

Ran appears on the door.

A demeanor he did not remember. Beautiful, fangs and pointed ears well visible, with a deadly stare in her crimson red eyes. He never noticed before, but Ran's eyes are the color of blood. Wearing only a very provoking pink metal bikini, with shiny grey metal collar and forearms.

"Ran-chan!"

"I saved your life, on Famdom. Using most of Lum-chan's lifeforce, which I sucked out of her and gave to you. And, for good measure, gave you almost all of my lifeforce as well. Yeah, sure, Invader's doctors did the rest, but your heart had already stopped beating when I did it. Technically, I brought you back from the dead."

Her voice is incredible, a perfect balance between silky sweetness and steel hard determination.

This revelation hits him like a Mack truck on the highway. No one told him about this.

She walks to him, invading his personal space, to lay her hands on his chest, gently stroking him, her lips almost touching his. Her gaze moves along his chest and face. An untold sadness transpires from her expression.

"W…why?", Ataru asks, shaking off his surprise.

"I don't know. I just did."

Her voice is now almost a whisper.

"But maybe I should take back what I granted you, since you are not really appreciating it."

Ataru does not back away.

"Yeah… maybe, you should. I don't really deserve this gift, I am not worthy of it."

Tears form in his eyes.

"What will you do, then, Darling? The choice is yours. Kiss me, and it'll be all over. I promise it'll be sweet, and painless."

"I… wouldn't be able to live without Lum, anyway", Ataru whispers, bowing his head.

Ran's expression softens. She feels something warm blooming in her chest.

She feels the tiniest sting in her eyes.

She steps back.

"So… maybe it would be a good idea you tell her that. Don't waste what you have. I… I came here tonight to pay back in kind what life had dealt me, but… I think I may have at long last found myself, instead. You should too."

A tear falls. The day's last sunlight from the window makes it look like a shining ruby before it disappears from sight.

He silently hugs her, squeezing tight. Gratefully.

Then, with determination in his eyes, he sidesteps her, looking for only an instant in her eyes, and starts running.

"LUM!"

Ran is suddenly alone.

She slowly shakes her head, whispering to herself, in Japanese.

"Dārin, no Baka…" Darling, you're so stupid.

Silently, she walks away, leaving the room bare, as the flickering sunset shining thru the transparent wall softly bathes of warm, golden light a now empty bed and a chair.

...


Notes.

Tricorder: Yeah, don't you just love Star Trek.