Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Oh my Goddess! characters do not belong to me. I am merely 'borrowing' them for the period this fic will take to be finished (considering my previous track record, sometime right before apocalypse)
Darkness. He was in total darkness but he wasn't alone. They were there with him, he could smell their fetid breaths, could hear their soft sounds of anticipation, could see their ethereal eyes glowing in the darkness.
There were tens of them, there were dozens of them. The number always changed, but one thing never did. The fear, the shaking of his soul down to it's very foundations.
And they came, their predatory claws raking more than skin. With every sharp scratch, it seemed like his soul shattered further.
Ranma sprung up, his arms propping him up from behind as sweat poured down his face. It took several moments for his eyes to focus. It took several moments more to assure himself that he was safe, he wasn't back in the pit.
*Damn, it was that old dream again. Why can't it leave me alone? Am I doomed to have nightmares for the rest of my life?* He had been fortunate today. Usually it took him a lot longer to wake. Whole nights where he relived his moments int the pit, trapped in the body and emotions of a ten-year-old. He could feel every scratch, and every second of terror, as clearly as if it had been yesterday..
"Ranma?" There was some anxious knocking on his door. He took a moment to compose his voice; he couldn't show them fear. Fear was to be kept hidden, like some precious treasure. Funny how he didn't feel that it was very precious, in fact he would rather have been rid of it.
"Yeah?" He said when he was sure his voice wouldn't tremble.
" You okay? We heard you scream." That was Belldandy, even now her voice was a shining beacon in the swelling darkness which threatened to swallow him. He hadn't even been aware he had screamed.
"Yeah, ....I am." He answered as best as he could.
" You sure, maybe we should come in and check?" There was some fumbling to open the door.
" No!" Ranma said a bit too quickly; he could not let them see him like this. He could not let anyone see him like this.
" You sure? I could help."
" JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Ranma screamed, not having the patience to answer politely.
There was a slight pause before he could hear footsteps walking away from his door, from him. As the they passed out of earshot, he thought he heard Urd mutter, 'Jerk.'
He sighed, burying his face in his hands. Urd was totally right, he was a jerk. He had just screamed at the person who had been the nicest to him in his life, and all because she was concerned about him. *Why do I keep pushing people away--Am I afraid? Afraid they'll leave me, or use me, like Oyaji did?*
"Oyaji, dammit! Why'd you have to dump me into the pit anyway?" He said softly, with a
slight trace of regret.
And it was with such thoughts, he found himself in the kitchen brewing himself of herbal tea.
*I am such a jerk, such a jerk.* Ranma repeated over and over to himself. Those words
seemed to calm him down slightly, until his repeated litany slowly but surely dragged him into a drowsy sleep.
****
" That boy is a total jerk. We were just concerned about him," Urd said in a put-off tone.
Urd stopped in mid-step to avoid bumbing into Belldandy who had suddenly turned around to look at her. It was one of the few times that Urd could remember seeing Belldandy angry, even slightly angry.
" Don't say that. You don't know what he's been through."
" What are you angry at me for? It's Ranma who shouted at you."
" I'm not angry at Ranma. If you knew what was done to Ranma, you wouldn't be either."
" What was done to him anyway?"
Belldandy took a few deep breathes before continuing. "It's better if you see it for yourself, I'll
show you what Ranma was dreaming about."
Urd nodded, unsure of what was to happen. Then the images began, along with the terror. She had never felt such abject fear before as she felt and saw Ranma's every emotion. Every slash of the claws. She closed her eyes, wanting for the fear to go away but it didn't. She could still see it as clearly in her mind's eye.
Finally the images stopped, the fear stopped. Urd opened her eyes shakily. "Kami-sama, what was that?!" She whispered, horrified.
" That was the Neko-ken training that Ranma was put through." Belldandy said sympathetically, although this time her sympathy was directed at Urd.
" Who..." Urd wet her parched lips and tried again. "Who would do such a thing to a child?" She knew of Neko-ken, knew of the unfortunate side-effects. She knew it well.
" His father, Genma."
" What! His own father did this to him?" Urd said, disbelieving. What kind of a jerk would do that to his own son. But she remembered the events from the day before, the promise of sepekku, and she knew.
****
Someone was shaking him gently. If he concentrated he thought he could hear a small voice telling him to wake up. A gentle voice which seemed to be getting louder and louder, until...
" RANMA WAKE UP!!"
"Huh? What?!" Ranma jolted upright, still seated at the table where he had drooped off to sleep.
" What a sleepy head you are. Belldandy tried waking you up but she couldn't. So she asked me." Urd said as she straightened herself from having to lean forward and shout into Ranma's ear.
" Oh, it's only you." For some reason, Ranma's off-hand tone irked Urd. She suspected he was still mad about what had happened on Sunday when almost all of Ranma's other fiancees, except the one called Akane, had dropped by about why Ranma hadn't met them as he wrote he would. Of course when they found each other had received a letter from Ranma, that had only made things worst resulting in a full-scale fight that had nearly demolished the temple. If Belldandy hadn't been able to restore the temple to it's original state, they would have been sleeping in the out. Urd suspected that Ranma somehow suspected her of sending all the letters even if he wouldn't say so.
" Time to go to school Ranma." Belldandy passed him a bento. Even now Ranma could smell the delicious aroma which drifted out.
*Great, just great,* he thought, supressing the urge to yawn.As always on a morning following one of those dreams, he felt exhausted.
" Sure," Ranma smiled taking the bento from Belldandy, being sure to thank her for it before rushing off to school.
Belldandy waved back at him, before she realised something. "Urd, shouldn't you get going?"
" Relax, I'll just teleport over there," Urd said, stretching lazily as she began moving to the television(which Urd had managed to acquire somehow).
****
"Ranma Saotome!"
"Huh?" Ranma stopped in the middle of the school courtyard, looking around to see who had called him.
" So you are the one!!" The speaker was a tall and thin figure, with brown hair and eyes. He had high cheekbones and the flesh was stretched tightly over them.He wore a standard school uniform, although it wasn't the same as Furinkan High's. Ranma for the life of him couldn't remember seeing him around before(Although strangely enough, the guy reminded him of Gosunkugi).
" Who are you?" he asked impatient, he didn't really feel like holding buckets in the hallway today.
The speaker took a dramatic breath before continuing in his haughtiest voice. " I am Furino Karniharo,the Blue Thunder!! and I am here to challenge you for Ukyou's hand!" A dramatic pause filled the air for the briefest second.
"Clang!" A metallic spatual bounced off Furino's head, plastering him to the ground. "I told you already, I'm engaged to Ranchan!"
" Ukyou, you know this guy?"
"Uh....heh heh," Ukyou chuckled nervously. " Yeah, I met him in grade school."
"Ukyou!" Furino glomped onto Ukyou's right leg even as she tried to pry him off.
*This is great!* Ranma thought, exultant. *That makes it one less fiancee I have to worry
about!!* " Well I won't bother you two now, see you." He waved lazily as he walked towards the Furinkan High building, trying hard not to snigger outloud.
"Hey, wait for me Ranchan!" *Clang! CLANG!* "Dammit, let go of me!!"
" Never, this shows that we were meant to be Ukyou. Why fight fate? Let's get married today!"
"VILE MISCREANT!! HOW DARE YOU NAME YOURSELF AFTER ME, THE FAIR NOBLE KUNO!! THE BLUE THUNDER OF FURINKAN HIGH!!" The newcomer had to let go of Ukyou in order to avoid being hit by a speeding bokken. Attached to the handle of the bokken was Kuno, who was ranting even more than usual.
" Who are you!?" Furino demanded before turning to Ranma. "Remember Saotome, two days from now in this very courtyard. I challenge you for the fair Ukyou's hand." Without even waiting for a reply, he ran away into the distance.
" How dare that foul peasent besmirch my fair name like so! Me, the great noble Kuno. The true Blue Lightning!!" Kuno went on until Ranma couldn't stand it anymore and punted him into orbit.
" Put a sock in it willya!" *Great, one more enemy.*
****
Not many people were overly concerned about the newcomer having challenged Ranma, that sort of thing was always happening around him. So it didn't make too much of surprise when everyone
ignored the challenge although Nabiki was already setting up a betting pool.
The only one who seemed overly worried was Ukyou. She was biting her lower lip nervously every now and then.
"Ranma." She dragged him under a tree, shooting a fierce glare at anyone who even came
close. Akane only sat faraway, glaring back at them but she wasn't near enough to hear them. "You
have to be careful."
" Huh, why?"
" Because this guy is smarter than Ryouga or Mousse. He loves to spring all sorts of stupid traps on people," Ukyou said, looking at him apprehensively. She would have gotten rid of Furino a long time ago except....he seemed so pathethic whenever she started to mention that she didn't like
him that she didn't have the heart to do it. *I don't want Ranchan to think I'm like Shampoo
and Akane, leading other men on. He needs to see that I'm the only one who truly only needs him!*
" So? I'll be careful."
" Good," Ukyou seemed to be a bit relieved. Truth was that Furino didn't really mean any harm, but his traps had a way of getting out of hand. *Like that time with the fishmonger...*
" Is that all?"
" Yeah," Ukyou nodded positively.
Ranma turned to walk away. "Thanks for the advice," He said, not looking where he was
stepping.
"Ranma look-"
*THWANG*
The noose snapped tightly around Ranma's foot, catapulting him into the air where he swung,
suspended in the air like some sort of rag doll.
"Out..." Ukyou finished lamely.
*Great, just great.* Ranma thought.
****
"Man that was hilarious." Urd giggled, annoying the hell out of Ranma mainly because he was the source of her mirth. Ever since she had seen that stupid incident where he had stepped in to the guy, Furino's trap she had been using it as bait to irk him.
" Shut up," Ranma said sulking, in the end he had managed to get himself down by pulling himself up so he could untie the rope. But it had been too late, virtually the whole campus had seen him and he was now the laughing stock of the school(even though they were wise enough not to show it to his face. Well except Urd...and Akane.) That had been a terrible blow to his ego, that he could have been caught by such a....stupid trick! *Baka!! You couldn't even see such a simple trap!! Baka!* He was his own worst critic.
" I mean, you didn't even see that." Urd said, continuing as if she hadn't heard him.
" Shut up!" Ranma said a bit more loudly, but not really shouting either. That was when his foot slipped on the fence. Desperately he tried to keep his balance but it seemed the fence was too smooth to get any grip on. No sooner had he put one leg down onto the fence then his foot slipped again, leading him to slide around in jerky uncontrolled movements.
Urd watched with amusement. What was Ranma doing?? Could he actually be.....dancing?? Even now, that idea seemed to absurd for her to imagine. Mr. I-don't-care-about-anything-but-martal-arts was dancing?? Would the surprises from this world never end?
Ranma finally managed to flip forward, landing forward onto the fence. He held his hands out
slightly to steady himself even as his feet worked to balance him.
"Ta-dah," He said when he was sure he wouldn't slip off, trying to pass off what he had just done as intentional.
That was when the portion of the fence he was standing on broke off and fell into the river.
****
Ranma-chan was not happy. First of all he was soaking wet, second he was female. And
lastly, Urd was laughing at him again.
"That was hilarious. You trying to show off and falling into the canal instead." Urd said, wiping
tears of laughter from her eyes.
" THAT FENCE WAS SABOTAGED!!" Ranma-chan yelled, "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!".
" That's what was so funny." Urd said with a straight face before bursting into another fit of giggles.
Ranma-chan sulked further, shoving his hands deep into his pocket. He was definitely not happy and this continued even until he reached the temple.
He stormed in the room, intent on getting a hot bath and changing back to male. He definitely needed to relax and hot bathes tended to have that effect on him. He would just soak in the furo, soaking up the warmth without a care in the world.
" Ranma, you look an awful mess. What happened?" Belldandy asked, concern shining in her eyes.
"Nothing," He answered as best as he could, having Urd mock him for the whole journey had put a strain on his temper. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a bath." He stalked off, bristling as he heard Urd start to tell Belldandy about his day, amusement plain in her voice.
* Accursed Furino! I shall teach him not mess with Ranma Saotome!* he thought. *Note to self, have got to stay away from Kuno. Now I'm talking like him.* The idea scared him slightly, if he was talking like Kuno what would happen if he started acting like Kuno?? Mentally he had a vision of hims shouting to all his fiancee's "I CANNOT DECIDE, I MUST HAVE YOU ALL!!". *Brr.* Ranma shivered at the thought.
"Nah, me and Kuno are way too different." Ranma-chan said outloud as if trying to convince himself. He plopped down into the furo, silently soaking up the tender heat.
That was when he felt something brush against his leg. Frowning, he peered into the murky water of the furo making out a slightly sinewy shape brushing against him.
In a flash, his hand shot into the water grabbing the shape, bringing it out into the light so he
could see what it was. What he saw seemed to be a short snake, no longer than his forearm and with a fish's head and things shaped like fin's running up and down it.
In his surprise, he tightened his grip slightly on the eel, causing it to squirm suddenly.
The eel didn't really like being squeezed so it did the only thing it could, it classified Ranma as a predator and prepared to shock him.
*****
"YOOOW!"" Belldandy and Urd's heads both turned towards the furo, where the scream had
come from.
"That was Ranma." Belldandy said, breaking into a run for the bathroom. What had happened
now? Oh why, oh why was she botching up so badly on helping Ranma? He seemed to be in more
trouble now than before.
Belldandy opened the door. And immediately blushed, turning her head away. Urd looked in,
only to see a naked Ranma lying unconscious on the floor while an eel swam happily in bathtub.
"Oh my." Urd whispered as she caught more than a glance of him.
****
Ranma sat, his arms crossed in front of him. He had a rather unusual expression on his face. Belldandy sighed, that was the face he always put on when he tended to get mule-headed. She doubted anyone could change his mind when he started getting stubborn on her.
" No." His voice was flat and emotionless. "I am definitely going to fight that guy.
"I thought you didn't want Ukyou as a fiancee." Urd broke in, leaning against the doorway in a rather casual manner.
"This has nothing to do with Ukyou!" They were surprised at his outburst. "This has to do with this...BAKA!! placing all sorts of stupid traps for me!!" *not to mention annoying the hell out of me,* "Besides it's a matter of honour, I have to accept and fight!"
Somewhat calmer, he went on. "Beside's I'm the best, no one can defeat me." He said, grinning in his cocky way. That was when he felt it.
Spinning round, he managed to see a huge green sphere soar towards the sky before plummeting down to earth again. He could feel the energy, the ki flowing through the ball. A mass of sorrow, grief and depression. He could feel them clearly yet they were muted slightly, as if smouldered with a blanker. It was the difference between watching a match live and on television. A slight difference, which made all the difference sometimes.
*Ryouga...* He thought, not sure why he did.
****
Two days passed rather quickly. By then Ranma had gotten less predictable preferring to change his routine daily. Naturally he fell into fewer traps, not that fewer traps were laid down but that he avoided them. Of course this meant that other people fell into those traps.
That day, the sky was bright and clear, the sun shining down in all it's glory. They met, two opponent's in the middle of the schoolyard.
"So you managed to escape all my traps Saotome."
"SO YOU'RE THE ONE!!" Almost as one, the whole school population of Furinkan high shouted, stampeding in a way not usually seen at Furinkan (unless one imagine's the girl's chasing after Happosai) towards Furino and promptly bashing him up.
" Do you know how many traps of yours I fell in!!"
" So you sabotaged the water heater!!"
Mayhem broke out while Ranma looked on, eyes narrowed. When they were done, he could
see Furino flattened to a pancake, nothing more than a greasy spot on the ground.
" Ack..."
" Baka," Ranma said turning to go.
" Wait Saotome, if you take that step you'll regret it!" Ranma looked back, somewhat surprised when he saw Furino trying to rise. Grudgingly, his respect for the guy went up. Not many people could have taken such a beating and gotten up.
" Forget it, you're in no condition to fight. We'll do this some other time." Ranma said, back facing Furino as he flipped his pigtail behind him. What was the honour in beating up on someone who was injured.
"I'm warning you Saotome."
Ranma ignored him, placing his foot in front of him. That was when the ground gave way, dropping him into some sort of pit.
Somehow Furino had somehow managed to recover fully and was now standing triumphantly over the pit. "MWAHAHAH! I warned you Saotome, now face your greatest fear!"
At that instant, faint meowing could be heard from within the pit.
*NOO!!! Not this!!* Ranma's mind screamed when he heard the sounds. Fear gripped him, arcs of electric nerves making him convulse. He could almost imagine the green glow eyes shining at him from the darkness, the smell of blood slick fur. Yet something felt wrong, if only he could control his fear enough to see what it was.
His hand groped around the pit, grabbing onto something soft anf furry. Bringing it out into the light, he prepared to gaze into his worst fear.
" A SOFT TOY!?!?!?!"
" Damn, and I was so sure he wouldn't notice the difference." Furino sworesnapping his fingers together.
Ranma climbed out of the pit, holding what appeared to be a rather cute cat soft toy in his hand. " YOU WANTED TO TRICK ME WITH A SOFT TOY!?!?" Ranma couldn't believe this as he thrust the toy in Furino's face.
" Uh...you see. Cats are kinda hard to get in such a short time since I only got the information today," *It took me the other two days to get the money Nabiki wanted, damn she asks a lot.* Furino scowled before going to try and explain himself. " And..uh....Nabiki offered to rent me those soft toys and the tape of cats."
By then, almost all the spectator's eyes had narrowed to slits as they all stared at Furino.
" That's pathethic!!" Ranma yelled, punching Furino off into the distance. "Don't you dare come back until you're better!!"
Having done so, he looked at the soft toy in his hands. *Tricking me with some soft toy. What does he take me for? An idiot???* That particular thought made him feel like throwing the darn toy down and jump up and down on it.
"Ranchan, you did it!! You defeated him for me! I guess that means you like me best!" Ukyou
gushed as she glomped onto Ranma, constricting him in a tight bear hug.
"Ranma!!" Uh-oh. That was Akane, and she did not sounds happy.
"Airen let go of spatula girl now!"
*Sigh....why me?* He thought as the mayhem began.
