Somewhere in Japan.
Maki-chan sat. She was perched on a wooden fence that circled a lake. It was a fairly good size body of water and nice; for being man-made. Which, Maki-chan reflected, made the word reservoir more appropriate.
It was late afternoon that found the small girl sulking. And, the heat of the day finding Maki-chan's mood catching, sulked too. In this case, misery didn't feel like company.
The sun glinted off the murky water, illuminating the koi fish swimming about. Maki-chan idly thought of how boring it'd be to be a fish. Then again, she corrected herself, if she were a fish she wouldn't know it were boring, because fish never seem bored. Her nose wiggled cutely as she thought.
"Ah," A man, who had been leaning on the fence next to her, but she had been ignoring him, said. "I know that look." And he grinned.
She sniffed and turned her nose up at him. "So?" She said, pouting. "In case you've forgotten, Jave, " she said his name hard, as if forcing it from her throat. "I'm still ignoring you."
"You can't ignore me forever," he countered. "You're nothing without me." Again the grin.
"That's no way to talk to a lady!" She yelled and then softly added, "Don't you think I know that? It's not like I have much choice."
"I don't see no lady," Jave drawled out. He smirked as Maki-chan stuck her tongue out at him. "You owe me, Maki-chan," He continued. "I listened when no one else would. What would you have done if I didn't? What then, girl? Don't you forget." With that he turned from her and strode off.
She made to follow, but paused and instead hopped to the ground. Maki-chan sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. How could she forget? Couldn't if she wanted too. She hated him, and not just him. She hated herself, what she was. But no, not hate alone. At times she felt something more for him. She needed him, saw him as a brother at times, but that might be her loneliness and grief.
Maki-chan loathed herself, the unfairness. She was no ordinary child, she knew. The emotions raced through her. Each one slamming into her. Then all was gone and the world was cold, she was cold. The sky, the ground darkened in the light. The lake changed, becoming a dark liquid maw there to claim her. The fish sparkling teeth. And only one word flitted through her.
Damn...
~~~
Nerima.
He felt it. More than just pressure on his neck. He felt the pulse of blood flowing under the skin, the warmth of the life in those fingers and the strength of the muscles. A testament to living, capable flesh. Flesh that was crushing his wind pipe. And it did not matter. No, Ranma found the weight crushing his mind more painful.
There was sight, sound. He could see his face in the mirror and passively, as if he were a spectator, noted the look of disbelief. He could hear his breath wheezing from his lungs, and the sound of voices speaking no words. And then sight was gone.
-------
Shinjuku, sub capital of Tokyo.
Jave swept into the small apartment like a violent wind, banging the door open with enough force to leave a knob dent in the wall. A small cat scampered in front of his feet, causing him to stumble, and sending the cat bounding into the arms of his roommate.
Yasushi, his roommate, made no move to acknowledge his entrance. Never had and Jave doubted he ever would. His shoulders sagged a little at the thought.
Yasushi was a tall, slender man. He had small gold rimmed glasses framing his brown eyes, which currently, were fixated on the TV screen, that wasn't turned on. His head tilted to the side as if listening intently, he nodded and hummed.
"Dammit, Sushi," Jave hissed. "I told you not to bring any more of your 'friends' home."
Yasushi's eyes flicked to Jave and back to the screen. "Don't call me that," he grumbled. The cat sat in his lap and purred, he stroked its back, scratched its ears. "Who are you to say the company I keep? Bah, no, I think not. You bring home all sorts of savory characters....You know you shouldn't bring them here."
Jave glared. "I don't 'bring' them home, they follow me." He jerked a thumb at his chest to emphasize his point, a very American gesture.
"Same difference, is it not?"
"What is it with you? When are you gonna take the stick outta your ass, man?" Jave came to a stop at the end of the futon Yasushi sat on, one hip thrust out a little and thumb hooked in his jean's belt strap.
Yasushi put down the TV remote and carefully, deliberately look up at the younger man. "When are you," he paused for effect. "going to stop being so arrogant?"
Jave snorted and shifted his weight. "You're just jealous, old man." And he grinned his grin.
"Jealous of stupidity?" He pretended to pondered this.
"Oh, ha ha. You are so clever."
"Yes, I know." Yasushi's thin lips quirked vaguely upwards at the corners.
~~~~~~
Location unknown.
The trees seemed to stretched for miles out of the damp earth, and yet they couldn't have been more than 6 meters high. They had leaves the like of which he had never seen; leaves he didn't think even man or nature could craft.
He stood at the center of a small circular clearing, the trees bowed in without end; forming a dome of brown bark and green. No light came from above, and he felt there was no light up there to come in. The only light came from a pool of water in front of him, filling the enclosure with a soft milky glow.
Ranma slowly circled his surroundings, feeling the 'walls' as he went. He found nothing he could not see. He snorted and walked the rim of the glowing water... He made a complete circle before coming to a stop where he started, or rather, walking into a large mass of unyielding flesh. Blue eyes moved from the nude chest in front of him up to the furry head attached to it.
The bear man huffed at him, sending a gush of warm used air through his hair. Bear man's massive head shook and his hand came up to Ranma's chest and pushed. Ranma fell. He fell fast, fell hard and there was no ground. No more light, trees streaked by and he saw the roots snake around to grab him. The roots were thin and clung to his body, burrowed into his skin, his muscle, to his bones. They pulled him down and hugged him tight, some almost caressing him before plunging deep, spilling his blood...
Tendo's bathroom
Sight came back to him, and then he came back to the bathroom. Lastly he came back to himself. Ranma blinked, his reflection blink with him. He took a quick step back and then another and another till his back was against the door. His hands came up to grasp his own throat. Nothing, still a throat. Head was still attached, pulse strong and breathing normal.
His brow furrowed in something that was not quite thought. The voice in his head was gibbering away about a million unimportant things, none of which he cared to hold on to.
The mirror rippled. His eyes refocused on it, but he didn't want to see. A little boy looked out at him, eyes wide and smiling. Then the image shivered, cuts appeared over the boy and infection followed. The skin peeled back and muscle unraveled like string, melted from bone and dripped wetly into the sink below. Pieces hit the porcelain with meaty splats. The boy in the mirror just smiled a smile of nothing.
Ranma choked. His hands worked to find the door knob, but seemed to get lost along the way. He felt a tide of words spring to his mind only to be strangle and hung in his throat, until one word crawled up from the inky darkness.
"Daddy...?"
Maki-chan sat. She was perched on a wooden fence that circled a lake. It was a fairly good size body of water and nice; for being man-made. Which, Maki-chan reflected, made the word reservoir more appropriate.
It was late afternoon that found the small girl sulking. And, the heat of the day finding Maki-chan's mood catching, sulked too. In this case, misery didn't feel like company.
The sun glinted off the murky water, illuminating the koi fish swimming about. Maki-chan idly thought of how boring it'd be to be a fish. Then again, she corrected herself, if she were a fish she wouldn't know it were boring, because fish never seem bored. Her nose wiggled cutely as she thought.
"Ah," A man, who had been leaning on the fence next to her, but she had been ignoring him, said. "I know that look." And he grinned.
She sniffed and turned her nose up at him. "So?" She said, pouting. "In case you've forgotten, Jave, " she said his name hard, as if forcing it from her throat. "I'm still ignoring you."
"You can't ignore me forever," he countered. "You're nothing without me." Again the grin.
"That's no way to talk to a lady!" She yelled and then softly added, "Don't you think I know that? It's not like I have much choice."
"I don't see no lady," Jave drawled out. He smirked as Maki-chan stuck her tongue out at him. "You owe me, Maki-chan," He continued. "I listened when no one else would. What would you have done if I didn't? What then, girl? Don't you forget." With that he turned from her and strode off.
She made to follow, but paused and instead hopped to the ground. Maki-chan sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. How could she forget? Couldn't if she wanted too. She hated him, and not just him. She hated herself, what she was. But no, not hate alone. At times she felt something more for him. She needed him, saw him as a brother at times, but that might be her loneliness and grief.
Maki-chan loathed herself, the unfairness. She was no ordinary child, she knew. The emotions raced through her. Each one slamming into her. Then all was gone and the world was cold, she was cold. The sky, the ground darkened in the light. The lake changed, becoming a dark liquid maw there to claim her. The fish sparkling teeth. And only one word flitted through her.
Damn...
~~~
Nerima.
He felt it. More than just pressure on his neck. He felt the pulse of blood flowing under the skin, the warmth of the life in those fingers and the strength of the muscles. A testament to living, capable flesh. Flesh that was crushing his wind pipe. And it did not matter. No, Ranma found the weight crushing his mind more painful.
There was sight, sound. He could see his face in the mirror and passively, as if he were a spectator, noted the look of disbelief. He could hear his breath wheezing from his lungs, and the sound of voices speaking no words. And then sight was gone.
-------
Shinjuku, sub capital of Tokyo.
Jave swept into the small apartment like a violent wind, banging the door open with enough force to leave a knob dent in the wall. A small cat scampered in front of his feet, causing him to stumble, and sending the cat bounding into the arms of his roommate.
Yasushi, his roommate, made no move to acknowledge his entrance. Never had and Jave doubted he ever would. His shoulders sagged a little at the thought.
Yasushi was a tall, slender man. He had small gold rimmed glasses framing his brown eyes, which currently, were fixated on the TV screen, that wasn't turned on. His head tilted to the side as if listening intently, he nodded and hummed.
"Dammit, Sushi," Jave hissed. "I told you not to bring any more of your 'friends' home."
Yasushi's eyes flicked to Jave and back to the screen. "Don't call me that," he grumbled. The cat sat in his lap and purred, he stroked its back, scratched its ears. "Who are you to say the company I keep? Bah, no, I think not. You bring home all sorts of savory characters....You know you shouldn't bring them here."
Jave glared. "I don't 'bring' them home, they follow me." He jerked a thumb at his chest to emphasize his point, a very American gesture.
"Same difference, is it not?"
"What is it with you? When are you gonna take the stick outta your ass, man?" Jave came to a stop at the end of the futon Yasushi sat on, one hip thrust out a little and thumb hooked in his jean's belt strap.
Yasushi put down the TV remote and carefully, deliberately look up at the younger man. "When are you," he paused for effect. "going to stop being so arrogant?"
Jave snorted and shifted his weight. "You're just jealous, old man." And he grinned his grin.
"Jealous of stupidity?" He pretended to pondered this.
"Oh, ha ha. You are so clever."
"Yes, I know." Yasushi's thin lips quirked vaguely upwards at the corners.
~~~~~~
Location unknown.
The trees seemed to stretched for miles out of the damp earth, and yet they couldn't have been more than 6 meters high. They had leaves the like of which he had never seen; leaves he didn't think even man or nature could craft.
He stood at the center of a small circular clearing, the trees bowed in without end; forming a dome of brown bark and green. No light came from above, and he felt there was no light up there to come in. The only light came from a pool of water in front of him, filling the enclosure with a soft milky glow.
Ranma slowly circled his surroundings, feeling the 'walls' as he went. He found nothing he could not see. He snorted and walked the rim of the glowing water... He made a complete circle before coming to a stop where he started, or rather, walking into a large mass of unyielding flesh. Blue eyes moved from the nude chest in front of him up to the furry head attached to it.
The bear man huffed at him, sending a gush of warm used air through his hair. Bear man's massive head shook and his hand came up to Ranma's chest and pushed. Ranma fell. He fell fast, fell hard and there was no ground. No more light, trees streaked by and he saw the roots snake around to grab him. The roots were thin and clung to his body, burrowed into his skin, his muscle, to his bones. They pulled him down and hugged him tight, some almost caressing him before plunging deep, spilling his blood...
Tendo's bathroom
Sight came back to him, and then he came back to the bathroom. Lastly he came back to himself. Ranma blinked, his reflection blink with him. He took a quick step back and then another and another till his back was against the door. His hands came up to grasp his own throat. Nothing, still a throat. Head was still attached, pulse strong and breathing normal.
His brow furrowed in something that was not quite thought. The voice in his head was gibbering away about a million unimportant things, none of which he cared to hold on to.
The mirror rippled. His eyes refocused on it, but he didn't want to see. A little boy looked out at him, eyes wide and smiling. Then the image shivered, cuts appeared over the boy and infection followed. The skin peeled back and muscle unraveled like string, melted from bone and dripped wetly into the sink below. Pieces hit the porcelain with meaty splats. The boy in the mirror just smiled a smile of nothing.
Ranma choked. His hands worked to find the door knob, but seemed to get lost along the way. He felt a tide of words spring to his mind only to be strangle and hung in his throat, until one word crawled up from the inky darkness.
"Daddy...?"