Chapter 2 :

The Land of the Death


"Look Rinne, he's actually breathing!"

"I can see that Ranma but can you lower your voice?"

Ataru didn't know if he was dreaming, his head hurt a bit and apparently now he was hearing voices, ones that he didn't recognize, where they visitants in his house? And if so, what were they doing in his bedroom? Why didn't they let him sleep a bit more after all he was up at night practicing his bows at the-

Woods, Rings, crows, Corpse girl….Lum

"LUM!" He woke up as the memories of what happened passed through his mind, everything looked quite dark and the sudden movement made his head felt dizzy and he closed his eyes momentary while holding his head.

"Oh"

"See, you wake him up!"

A few moments passed before he could see the owners of those voices, he just looked around and…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ataru screamed as he fell out the bed, feeling quite perturbed to say at least when he saw them.

The first one didn't look older than him, he was a young man who had blue colored sunken eyes, in which one was clearly missing, his black hair was stylized with a pigtail, his skin was blue, his tore up red shirt was definitely Chinese and his black pants were in a better shape, his black shoes were the ones of a kung fu artist.

The second one was also a young man, probably his age, his red hair was opaque and his sunken eyes matched the color of his hair, he could look normal if his skin wasn't blue making his freckles look like bluer dots, his clothes were also interesting; he wore a strange haori, under it he had a normal white plain shirt and black pants with a simple pair of shoes.

"Rude much?" The pigtailed boy said.

"Ranma, put yourself in his shoes" The red hair boy said" The first thing he saw when he woke up was you"

"Excuse me?" The man called Ranma said" He also saw you"

"Well, yeah" The red-haired boy admitted" but at least I am not missing an eye"

Ataru saw them arguing in disbelief, something as simple as that action make them look so alive, it actually was helping him to control his nerves better.

"So, I am dead now?" Ataru asked, it was more a question to himself but the other two stopped arguing and looked at him.

"No, you're still alive" The red-haired boy said with a smile" put your hand on your heart"

Ataru did what he was told, eager to erase his fears and he felt his heart, beating fast under his hand.

"It's surprising to have here someone with beating heart, you know?" the pigtailed boy smiled.

"I think it must be" Ataru felt more relaxed, at least he wasn't dead yet" So did the two of you had been in this room all the time or.."

"No, we just entered a few moments ago because someone couldn't keep his curiosity in check, right Ranma?"

"Shut up, you were as curious as me Rinne"

"Ranma…Rinne" Ataru said pointing at them" Those are your names, right?

"Oh yeah, My name is Ranma" the pigtailed boy pointed to himself and then to the red-haired boy" and this good shoes is named Rinne"

"Oh, that's cool" Ataru almost cringed of his own words, it was the first time he talked to persons who were close to his age besides Shinobu, so he didn't know what to say at first" My name is Ataru"

"Nice to meet you" Rinne smiled.

"So now that I know who I am talking to" Ataru stood up off the floor and looked at Rinne" Where I am exactly? Because this doesn't look like the heaven I know about"

"Well, you're in the land of the dead and it's quite different from the one you know" Ranma began" here you walk with the clothes and injuries you were buried or killed with"

"So the eye…"

"I lost it here, so it's somewhere in this place" Ranma grinned and continued" by the way, sorry for scaring you, I am just so used to this that I forgot how this isn't normal up there"

"I was startled, sure but…" Ataru said still looking at him" sorry it will take a time to get used to looking at you"

"It's okay, I am just surprised how you calmed down so fast" Ranma said" If I was me the one who was alive, I could have kick anyone that looked like I am right now"

"Yeah, he's right" Rinne said" of all my years working with spirits you sure recovered quickly"

"It's because both of you act so alive, it actually made me remember how I am not used to had a conversation with guys the same age as me" Ataru confessed" back in my town the only person that is close to my age is my best friend Shinobu and she's a girl, the other people there were are adults and kids"

Both of them looked at him.

"Sure both of you are dead and talking corpses, but you don't act any different than the people I know" Ataru smiled "I can't say the same in your appearance though, but I have seen worse back at the hospital on my town where I helped, maybe that helped?"

"Rinne, I like him"

"Same" Rinne looked back at the door" Now, we should reunite with the girls, they have to know that you woke up"


"Lum, calm down" A girl who had pale blue eyes with long black hair said, her blue skin contrasted her simple olive dress "everything is going to be fine"

"I can't Kagome!" Lum said feeling worse" He's alive and he's here because of me!"

"Why are you so sure it was your fault?" A girl with short blue hair said, her face was a pale blue with a big cut on her right cheek, her dark blue Chinese dress was a bit decolored but her pants were in good shape with her Kung Fu shoes,

"Akane is right, maybe it was something else?" A purple-eyed girl with her brown hair styled in two braids said softly, her purple decolored dress made her look like a cute doll, the only thing that stood her up was her blue skin.

"I am not sure, but I did hear my voice, it was faint but I still heard it" Lum said with a sad expression" I don't remember saying them before, it's like.."

"Hey, 'Kane, he woke up!" Ranma exclaimed as he opened the door in one move, scaring all the girls inside.

"IDIOT!" The blue haired girl said" Didn't you learn to knock the door first?"

Lum saw them enter, Ranma began to be scolded by Akane, Rinne went to Sakura with a smile in his face and is that when she noticed the man behind him and it took her by surprise.

"Hey-" Ataru began awkwardly and the eyes of the girls were all on him.

"I am so sorry!" Lum went to the young brown haired boy" I don't know why but I think is my fault that you're here"

"Hey, calm down" Ataru said softly to her, the guilty look she had didn't suit her, wanting to make her feel better, he took her skeletal hand and guided it to his chest, where his heart was" See? I am still alive"

Lum felt his heart beating under her bones and it calmed her, both of them saw each other in silence, until Ranma cough.

"How aren't you scared to touch her skeletal hand?" Ranma said with a knowing smile" But you were scared by my missing eye?"

"Well…"Ataru didn't know why he suddenly felt flustered.

"Both of you have a ring in your left hand" Kagome said suddenly, as she saw the left hand he held on her and her skeletal one, they both had the ring in the heart finger, that only meant something but she needed to ask first, it sounded way to crazy "did both of you get married?"

Ataru and Lum only took a moment before the words sunk in.

"THE RINGS!" they said in unison before trying to take them off, both of them failed.

"Strange, you can't take them off?" Akane said with interest" You, had you feel any different with that ring?

"My name is Ataru"

"And mine is Akane" She smiled "So, did you?"

"Well, before meeting Lum at night it felt normal but when I was going closer to her it began to feel warmer"

"Hmmm" Kagome asked" and right now?"

"Nothing" Ataru felt out of place with the group of living corpses, the girls looked all normal except the short haired girl, that had a big scar in one of her cheeks.

Wait, Did he just seriously thought that they looked normal with their blue skin and sunken eyes? Was he that crazy now? He still feels scared of how normal he talked with them, they were talking corpses for christ sake, he should be scared shitless because of them.

Am I really going crazy?

"This is something weird" Kagome said" both of you should talk with the ancient Cologne, maybe she could help both of you"

"Yeah, but both of you should wait until next day "Sakura added" she just arrived for a trip and you know that she always takes a free day after it"

"Can she really help?" Ataru said with uncertainty "Does this happen often?"

"I am not sure, at least in the two years we been dead, it had never happened" the black haired girl said to him " But she's known of knowing every secret and she has a lot of books, after all she has been dead since ancient times, that's enough for me to believe in her"

"Thanks for the response, Miss..?"

"Kagome, her name is Kagome" the brown haired with braids said with a smile" And mine is Sakura, nice to meet you"

"Well, in all my days that I lived in my town, I never had the name of three beautiful girls this quickly, without being ignored" he joked, feeling comfortable with the group.

And the inexplicable happened, they all laughed with him.


"So, you accidentally put the ring on her heart finger?" Ranma's tone was amused " damn, talking about strange luck"

"Well, I didn't know that branch was her hand!" Ataru said feeling offended, they were at a tavern, were skeletons were playing billiards and if he wasn't so done of seeing dead people, he could at least be surprised when he saw the skeleton of Napoleon Bonaparte happily chanting with General Wellington, a thing it could make historians of his books laugh, however the drinks were supposed to be the best thing in here, sadly it was only kinds of liquid poison with different flavors and he kindly refused them to the already surprised dead bartender, that had a mark of a gunshot in his forehead" It was an accident"

"Still, what a shame" Rinne said before drinking his drink" it could had been interesting if you really had married her, we could have had the married boys nights"

"We just meet, why should I-"Ataru stopped and saw Rinne with confusion in his eyes "Wait, what?"

"Oh I forgot to tell you" Ranma said with a happy smile showing his wedding ring" you saw the pretty girl with short hair, she's my wife; Akane Saotome"

"And the cute girl with purple eyes is my wife" Rinne sipped his drink looking away, trying to hide a blush that didn't appear because of his state but thanks to that movement Ataru now could see clearly his wedding ring" Sakura Rokudou"

"Oh, you flirty dorks!" Ataru smiled "Who would have thought that even in afterlives the heat would be as strong as ever"

Rinne and Ranma just looked to another side, ignoring his lujurious glance.

"Still, even in this I am left out" Ataru sighed" I won't get married until a few days later"

"You mean, with the girl you were practicing your vows to?" Rinne asked intrigued" Who is she?"

"Well, she's a good friend, she talks about anything, is smart, has dreams, all the good stuff" Ataru said smiling a bit.

"You talk about her as she was your sister" Rinne commented.

"Yeah, I don't see your dumb smile when you talk about her, like the one Rinne has when he talks about Sakura" Ranma casually said, Rinne almost choked her drink.

"Or with the proud smile that Ranma has when he talks about Akane" Rinne shoot back and Ranma tensed.

Ataru just laughed, feeling happy to talk with them.

"So that's how you act when you marry the girl you love" Ataru put his hands behind his head, feeling at ease.

"Wait, you don't love her?" Rinne asked with a serious tone.

"I wish I could but I don't see her that way" Ataru felt weird for the sudden honesty, he has not been honest about his feelings about her with anyone, he didn't want to be judged back then.

"Why are you marrying her then?" Ranma looked suspicious but Ataru didn't notice it.

"Because I want my parents to be happy" Ataru began, maybe he was tired of hiding the truth for so long that it made the words flow easily" they have no money and they blindly believe that I will be happy with her in the future"

"But, if you are so unsure about it, why don't you postpone it?" Rinne's look softened "Why don't you talk to your parents?"

"You see, I been known for having really bad luck, they are so used to see me as a letdown, so I at least wanted to give them a false happiness, for all the years they wasted of me, no matter how much times I tried to be a normal kid, disasters and accidents always followed me close, most of the people in the town don't want to talk with me because they are scared of my bad luck"

"Ataru…"Ranma said unsure of what to say.

"You have to act this way, don't act like an idiot, stop flirting, you will be nothing" Ataru said feeling broken, his false smile was breaking" that's what they always said to me, so I wanted, I really wanted to be different but no matter how much I try I cannot lie to myself so much"

Ranma and Rinne kept quiet.

"But I can't say nothing, I don't have people to talk about this freely, I had no friends and the few persons that had that title don't know, because I don't want them to make them feel bad about me, I can't express how I been feeling, it's so hard"

Ataru felt a hand in each of his shoulders; it was Rinne's and Ranma's.

"You can show it right now" Rinne said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, we're dead so we don't judge like the living" Ranma joked.

Those words were enough to make his walls disappear for a moment, making Ataru broke down with them, when he finished, he felt at ease for the first time in years.


Lum and him walked through the town square to kill time, it was full of vendors who sold bones, caskets and other things he didn't want to know, he also saw dead people walk like normal persons and some even greeted him, it was interesting how lively it looked the land of the dead.

"So, you talked to them?" Lum said and Ataru felt a soft blush of embarrassment when he nodded.

To be honest, Ataru didn't' expect to get loose with the other two, it was probably the relief of talking with persons as young as him and with a similar way of thinking, it also helped that they told him about their adventures before dying and that made them quite interesting persons as well with peculiar problems, like him.

Ranma and her wife were martial artists that were always challenged by people, some honored and others not much, they were unstoppable until a bunch of assassins attacked them and hit them with poisoned darts.

Rinne and Sakura lived a similar fate, they could see ghosts and helped them to pass to the other side until they both were judged accused of doing witchcraft and sentenced to a horrible death: being throw away into the river inside a wooden box with the only fate of being drowned.

He didn't feel so alone in being a magnet to problems anymore but he wished he couldn't have known them in this circumstance, no innocent person deserved to be murdered, this only added another thing to the list of why he hated society.

"Yeah, you have some good friends with you"

"I wish I didn't' met them in this circumstance though" Lum admitted" I would have loved to met them while we were all alive"

Déjà vu

"I share your way of thinking" Ataru smiled as he looked at her" I am sad that they died so young and because of the sick way of thinking by other people, I can't imagine how hard is for them to clearly remember their death and what they felt in that moment"

"That's a thing I am grateful of not remembering," Lum said with a smile and Ataru stopped walking.

"You don't?"

"Well, since we're husband and wife I will tell you" She tried to tease him and it worked to his dismay.

"You don't have to" Ataru said.

"It's ok" She smiled and took a breath before beginning" You see, I know I was murdered but I don't remember who was or why I was escaping from, when I woke up here I was confused, dead people welcomed me with open arms but I was still confused, until I saw myself in a mirror, you see this part where my rips shows? I was stabbed there with something, the blood was still red and fresh but I didn't like it because it tainted my dress so I cut that part off after all the rips were already showing off"

Ataru tried hard to not get chills after hearing that, the way she was explaining her death was as unnerving as the others were, but he tried to stay calm.

"For the dress I deducted that I was going to marry "She explained "But I am sure it wasn't the person of that rumor after all, someone who loves you could never hurt you"

"Yeah, only a monster could kill another human"

"Yes" She said with a sad smile" The strange thing is that I remember parts of my life but I can't see them as a whole thing, like if they were fragmented or I feel that I lost some, maybe I also hit my head"

"It could be" Ataru said wanting to change the subject as her mood became sadder" But the only thing I see in your head is your beautiful blue hair and those interesting horns that I just discovered"

"Eh?" She said taken back" you didn't notice them?"

"Nope, the veil was distracting" He admitted" So, an ogre?"

" An alien ogre" She said ashamed" did I let you down?"

"What?" Ataru looked at her, she was looking at the ground and he understood what she thought by her expression" NO! NO! You're actually a beautiful girl, no matter what race you are!"

"You think so?" She smiled a little" people always changed their way of thinking when I said the word alien, it was only here when I wasn't judged"

"Yeah, living people can be idiots, believe me" Ataru confessed" you don't need to believe in everything they said"


When they arrived the next day to the place the old skeleton Cologne was, Ataru felt a bit tired, because he discovered that no matter how dead his new friends were, they still snore a lot.

And he also noticed that a lot of people died in worse ways than the ones he knows because today he saw walking corpses with a head missing or chopped in half, he knew that he couldn't be perturbed by anything in his town after all the things he saw here.

Even the old skeleton felt more kind to his eyes than the other mutilations he saw today.

"Lum, why do you have here?" The old skeleton that went with the name of Cologne said looking and touching the hands of the young man" You brought a living person here"

"That's the problem, I don't know how and why" Lum said feeling guilty" I only remember that I was back in the land of the living, I meet him and suddenly crows were with us, my voice in my head began saying words that I don't recall and made me had a headache, after that I think I blacked out, but why did this happen? How did I came back up there? And why did I bring him with me?"

"Well, is quite simple my dear" Cologne said as he watched his ring" I have heard about similar situations in other parts on my trips, I can say that you made a plea before dying and the Moon lent you their powers to make those words take effect, the same words that you heard, were your last words"

"I did a plea?" She tried to remember, it still didn't work" But I have no memory of it"

"Is because of your Post mortem fragment amnesia, Sweetheart" Cologne said as she looked at her, she held her hands in a motherly manner" is okay if you don't remember saying it, after all is part of the moon power, you had to forget some parts of your life for the magic to work"

"Yeah, even if I don't know what plea or magic you two are talking about" Ataru looked at Lum" It was also my fault, for giving you the ring"

Lum smiled at that, feeling more at ease.

"Both of you are really acting as a married couple, as it should be" Cologne smiled" I am happy to hear that you found a good husband, dear"

Both of them looked at her surprised.

"Wait, Miss Skeleton, what do you mean by that?" Ataru hesitantly said.

"Oh, you don't know?" Cologne said amused "You're both married to each other"

"WHAT?!" they said in unison

"But, we barely know each other!"

"She's right, we just met yesterday!"

"No matter what you both said, it's already done, the young boy probably did exactly what your plea asked for and the ring was the thing that sealed it" Cologne said" This kind of moon connection is strong; Young Man, Lum will have to follow you, you can't be apart from her for not more than a half day because the ring will react in some way, the same goes with you Lum"

"Eh?!" Ataru felt anxious, this wasn't good.

"Dear Cologne is there no way to break the seal?" Lum asked.

"Of course, both of you have to renew your vows for eternity in the Land of the Dead, Young man you know that there is only one way for you to do that and with that the rings magic will be gone" Cologne affirmed

"I have to die?" He whispered.

"NO, there has to be another way!" Lum pleaded" I don't want to ruin his happiness, please, I can't take his life and will to be free!"

Ataru gazed at her, it was the first time someone besides Kaede through about how he felt, not even his parents or Shinobu did that.

"I am glad you're not selfish, sweetheart" Cologne smiled proudly as she went ahead to search on her books, it's only when she found one that she continued" Maybe in one of these books we can find another solution"

The young pair sighed in relief.

"Oh I found something" Cologne said and began to read the page" The moon gives wishes to people whose destiny was torn apart with a horrendous life, no matter how hard it was, it concedes the ignorance in exchange of a wish, only when the person is no longer ignorant of their memories, is when any power that was granted vanishes"

"Do I have to know everything about me, for the curse to break?" Lum felt insecure, was her life that horrible? She never really cared about those things until now since she was happy with the things she remembered.

This isn't only about me, his life is in danger because of me, put it together Lum.

"Lum" Ataru put his arm around her shoulder, wanting to calm her, she looked troubled" I will help in whatever I can and I will be by your side, you're not facing this alone"

"Thank you, it actually helps me feel a little better" her words were honest.

"So, Miss Skeleton, what do we have to do?" Ataru was confident, he needed to look strong for her.

"You will go back to the land of the living and you will investigate about her" Cologne said as she looked at Lum" Sweetheart you will need to be at night in the same place you were buried, since the seal won't let you be that much time away from him, but the magic of the rings will come handy, you will need a word that makes you remember of the place of the living, so you can transport there and you young man, will have to visit the woods at night to see her, only that way you will be free from the seal for the day"

"Sure but how can I go back?" Ataru questioned.

"You will also need a word that remembers you of that place, something that defines your life back there, the magic of the moon can work with the simplest word"

"Wait, I have that magic now?"

"Yes, after all your life is intertwined with Lum's thanks to the rings"

"Okay then, let me think" He meditated for a moment, trying to find a good word to it.

It could be, the word idiot? Na that hurts, starved of romantic affection? Nop, too real and too long, unlucky? I already repeat that world a lot, maybe something about there? The people? Or…

That's it!

"I had the word but if there is the necessity to come back here, how can I do it?"

"The same way, say something that remembers you a lot of this place since you're connected with Lum, you can go back whenever you want without having the after effects of the land of the dead"

"So there were limits?" Ataru didn't think about that possibility, he asked and with luck, his voice didn't temble "What were the after effects?"

"Well, if it wasn't for that ring, you did be already dead by now, no one who can breathe air would live as long as you did" Cologne sounded dead serious, making him gulp.

"Okay" he tried to forget of the possibility of dying, so he decided to focus to find the other word, it came effortlessly in his mind after a few moments.

"Have you decided?" Cologne asked with patience.

"Yeah, it was actually easier to find the word that remembered me of here"

"Good, ready to come back?" Cologne said" The sooner the better"

"Wait, let me say goodbye first" Ataru said as he gazed back at Lum, she looked so happy for him and he only smiled" Tell the others I will visit them soon"

"Sure but can I ask you something before you go?" She asked shyly.

"Sure, go ahead"

"What's your name?" She asked with curiosity" You know my name but I still don't know yours"

"Didn't Ranma and Rinne tell you about it?" Ataru reflected" And I remember saying it when we're all together"

"No, they love to tease me so they referred to you as my husband" she said looking to another place" and my memory isn't that good"

Was she pouting?

"Ataru Moroboshi, that's my full name" he said with a reverence, remembering for the first time his gentleman etiquette.

She giggled.

"I will see you soon and-"He smiled at her before continuing" let's work as a team, ok, Lum?"

"Yes" She smiled back at him" we can make this work, together"

He nodded as he separated from her, when he was in a safe distance, he closed his eyes as he said the words that described the land of the living for him.

Gray sky

When he opened them, he saw the place where he was before, it wasn't nighttime and he could hear the church bells, he saw his ring, the bright yellow light began to shine less until the ring recovered his normal gold color.

He only sighed as he prepared himself.

It was going to be a long day of explanations.


A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter, see you soon!