After a couple of hours Chloe didn't want to read anymore, her throat
beginning to hurt from the constant talking. In exchange for the
remaining grapes Ranma went and told Artena that Chloe was ready to
come in, then wandered back out to the grape fields, picking the bunch
clean as he went. There was just enough left to make sure he wouldn't
be hungry for a while, yet still not leave him wobbling about like a
drunkard filled to the brink. Not that that was a bad way to walk, it
was fun to copy his pop like that sometimes.
But he couldn't go running around easily on a full stomach.
He entered the field, tossing the desecrated bunch away, and pulled
out one of his knives. Only one, because trying to throw two at once
while running seemed to throw him off-balance, which just made his aim
even worse. He'd never catch anything that way. Besides, his other
hand and arm were still injured.
Ranma began walking down the rows as quietly as he could, thinking
sneaky thoughts just like his father had taught him to do.
The point of the knife stuck through the tip of the rabbit's ear. The
animal took off with even more effort, the knife bounced free before
he could throw another, and then it was gone, cutting through the
field.
Ranma stopped, short on breath, right in front of the knife. There
was a bit of blood on the blade, just a smearing of red, and a few
drops lead away, after the rabbit. He grinned, picked the weapon up,
and squeezed his way between the plants. The trail wasn't that easy
to find, but the red stood out barely enough on the dark and ripped
ground that he could follow it anyway.
Within just a few minutes it was impossible to continue the pursuit.
The blood was changing color with its contact to the air, darkening to
an almost brown that was imperceptibly different from the earth it
faded into.
He'd still hit the thing, though. He might not have killed the
rabbit, but he'd hit it for the first time. Next time he might be
eating it for dinner.
Ranma started walking again, aimlessly, thinking sneaky but triumphant
thoughts as he searched for his prey.
He never found it, though.
The next two days were very much the same. Ranma woke up, chased
around furred evil, then gorged himself on grapes and listened to
Chloe tell about the boy who was now being chased by a band of
harpies. The harpies were after the boy because he got something
called herpies from a girl named Monahr, Ranma wasn't sure how that
worked or what herpies really was, but the harpies seemed to think it
was a good thing, for some reason. Some of the story was confusing.
It was fun, though.
The first day Chloe limped back into the Manor on her own, still being
careful of her knee but it seemed more that she was being careful with
it than that she was really in pain. So Ranma figured she'd be able
to play again soon. His hand and arm were both almost completely
healed by that point.
The second day was a bit tense. Chloe came out walking almost
normally so Ranma sat down and listened to her read for a while. She
did, just as she had the previous few days. But he was waiting for
her to attack him, her leg healed enough by this time for them to have
some fun. But she never did. Chloe just read to him for a couple of
hours and then went inside. It was disappointing, but maybe she
wasn't really ready for that yet.
Ranma managed to sneak up on a rabbit that afternoon, but as soon as
he went to go after him with a knife, it bolted. Since he'd been
moving slowly, concentrating on stealth instead of outright attack, he
didn't adjust in time and it got away. But he was closer.
Chloe was wearing shorts the next day that cut off just above her
knees. They were just another pair of the pants she wore, with the
legs shortened, really. But Ranma could see nothing wrong with her
knee, no swelling or discoloration. Well, it wasn't strong and manly
looking like his were, but they looked fine for her, for a girl's
knees.
Despite that and the way Chloe didn't seem to have any trouble walking
when she came out, she still never attacked him. She didn't even wear
her harnesses, going weaponless as far as he could tell. She wasn't
good enough to fight him without her knives.
Ranma still waited until she had sat down before doing the same, just
in case. Chloe started reading.
"'The terrible diver turned out to not be that bad after all. He told
the boy that he hadn't really stolen the pearl, he was just returning
it to his wife, who had accidentally dropped it into the sea when they
went on their honeymoon. The giant pearl was the centerpiece of a
necklace the diver had given his wife as a present.
"'So the boy was stuck. Was it right to take the pearl away from the
diver's wife if it really belonged to her? On the other hand his
bladder was getting really full and if the boy didn't take the pearl
back to the merman king and have his beloved snake friend returned
soon, he might explode and die.'"
"Wait," interrupted Ranma, "why doesn't the boy just beat the merman
king up and take his beloved snake friend back that way? Then he
wouldn't have to take the pearl."
"Because the only place he could fight the merman king is underwater,
and the merman king is the one who cast the spell that makes it
possible for humans to breathe underwater. If the boy beat the merman
king up, the king would break the spell and the boy would drown."
Chloe looked annoyed. "I told you that already."
"But it's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair. Why would a story be?"
"It should be!" Ranma insisted.
Chloe stared at him. "You know what would be fair? It'd be fair if
I'd never had to meet you."
Grin. "You trying to start something?"
Chloe stood, and he jumped to his feet, ready for the fight he'd been
waiting on. She didn't move.
"It would be fair," she said, "if you'd just wandered off in your
crazy cat mode and gotten hit by a car. It would be fair if you died
and your body turned into the worm food that your brain already is.
IT WOULD BE FAIR IF YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN!" she yelled at him
furiously.
Ranma frowned. "Hey, you don't have to--"
"You don't get it, do you? I hate you! I wish you would die!
Nothing could make me happier! Japan is east, okay? Go home, go to
hell, wherever, just leave me alone!"
Chloe collapsed onto her bed, rocking back and forth as she sobbed
into her pillow. It wasn't fair! Her time at the Manor was supposed
to be fun and spent with Artena and that girl, not taken up by some
stupid jerk! And he wouldn't leave her alone, he kept pestering and
pestering and trying to pick a fight like it was supposed to be a
game!
"Chloe."
She looked up. "Artena-sama? I--"
"I heard what you said, Chloe." The woman stood in the doorway. "Is
he really that bad?"
Chloe nodded, mute, looking down miserably. She held her breath to
keep from crying, clenched her eyes shut. It wasn't fair!
"I've tried to get him to relax around me, tried to get him to fall
asleep while I was talking, but he just won't! He just gets more and
more wound up and now there's just a few days left until that girl
gets here! And since I told him which way Japan is, now it's going to
be even harder to kill him in time!"
Footsteps, then a weight settled down next to her on the bed.
"Artena-sama?"
"Shh."
Chloe let herself be pulled into Artena's lap, wrapped her arms around
the woman.
"Don't worry about Ranma, Chloe. He's not going anywhere."
Artena killed him, and now Chloe was useless, not Noir as she was born
to be, blessed to be, raised to be.
"I don't think Ranma believed what you said. He's sitting outside
waiting for you to come back out. He has no idea why you're mad at
him."
Chloe looked up and Artena smiled at her. "Really?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, really."
"It doesn't matter anyway," Chloe said quietly. "It wasn't working.
Instead of getting bored and falling asleep, he keeps getting more
tense and waiting for me to attack him again."
Artena just shushed her again and began rocking back and forth
slightly on the bed, Chloe in her arms. "Don't worry about Ranma. He
doesn't matter. If you don't kill him before that girl gets here,
nothing bad will happen."
Chloe held on tighter. "Thank you, Artena-sama."
Ranma stared at the Manor entrance, waiting. Where was she? Chloe
went running inside an hour earlier after acting like she hated him,
for no reason. What was that about, anyway?
He picked up Chloe's book, which had been left behind, and opened it
to a random page. It was filled with gibberish, whatever nonsense
words and letters these French people seemed to use. What was it
really about? Chloe was making it up as she went along, he knew--the
number of words she read per page was widely inconsistent, and the
story had nothing to do with a looking glass, as she'd said the book
was called after.
Chloe didn't make sense. She was a girl after all. More fun than
most, but still just a girl who would run off crying for no reason at
all.
Ranma took the book up to the Manor entrance and left it on the floor
just inside the doorway. He'd go hunt rabbits, instead.
He walked towards the grape fields, slowly. Was east the way to go,
or had Chloe been lying just to get rid of him? South couldn't be it-
-there was nothing but more mountains in that direction. Same with
north.
Why would Chloe hate him? It's not like he'd done anything mean to
her. She kept starting fights, and he kept winning them. Why would
she get mad about that? Ukyou had gone and given him free food
whenever they finished fighting. Was the difference because Chloe was
a girl? Or was she just weird?
His dad had said stuff about girls being overemotional, and moody.
Was that what was wrong with Chloe, she was just in a bad mood? She'd
been crying when she ran off and he knew he hadn't done anything to
her. So maybe she hadn't really meant it, maybe she'd just had PMS or
whatever it was Pop had talked about. How long did that last?
Probably not more than a few hours, whenever he got mad it only took
that long for him to settle down.
So, he'd check back after lunch to see if she was fixed yet.
He wandered the fields, looking everywhere. The rabbits were hiding
better than they usually did and his whole sneaky thoughts, quiet
thoughts thing kept getting off track. Was it noon yet? A look at
the sky showed the sun as being just off center, so not quite.
Ranma continued his hunt. Grapes were particularly nauseous when they
were heated, as the things certainly were now. Little bubbles of hot
and sweet water that left him feeling thirsty on an already
uncomfortably warm day. Wasn't it supposed to be getting chilly?
Chloe might be sitting under the tree again, waiting for him with
another half of a sandwich, eying the thing and thinking about how
she'd much rather eat it than a bunch of boiling grapes. All happy
and in a good mood and sorry for getting mad at him earlier because
she was fixed now. Or she could still be inside crying. Which was
it?
He sat down and started to eat.
She wasn't under the tree, or even outside as far as he could tell.
Maybe she was still messed up. Maybe she didn't want to have to tell
him she was sorry for what she'd said.
Ranma turned around and headed back out to hunt for supper. He'd
catch a rabbit! He would!
The one with the scabbed ear he named Bugs. He'd seen those American
cartoons, and he knew it was the only name that fit. Bugs was
everywhere. Ranma would be at one edge of the grape fields, see Bugs,
chase him around for a little bit, and then the rabbit would disappear
down some invisible rabbit hole. Then the thing would pop back up
when he was way over on the other side of the fields, searching again
for his food, and the same thing would happen. It was like some
magician's trick of making a rabbit appear out of nowhere and then
sending it back to that same place again later.
Ranma was pretty sure that Bugs was the Satan those religious people
had been talking about when his pop dragged him to church on occasion.
The bunny was that evil. It even seemed to be waving its injured ear
at him whenever it was about to pull one of its vanishing acts,
taunting him. Seeya later, it seemed to say. It's been fun.
If not for the scabbed ear showing differently Ranma would suspect
that Bugs was the only bunny around. Any others that were present
either didn't want to mess with him or were just a whole lot better at
hiding. So he only saw a rabbit other than Bugs once in a while. He
was pretty sure there were more rabbits, hidden, that were just
laughing as Bugs played around with him.
Looking over at the Manor yielded nothing. Chloe wasn't there, wasn't
outside at the tree waiting for him to show up. The only thing he had
to play with was Bugs. He hated Bugs. Bugs laughed at him but kept
running away.
Bugs was gonna die.
Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts. Step. Sneaky thoughts, quiet
thoughts. Step. Repeat.
It was late afternoon, almost time to eat. He wasn't going to eat
grapes for dinner, not again, so he was gonna kill Bugs and eat him,
instead. Ranma was sure that the next level up in fare from eating
grapes was eating a grape-eating little monster. And Bugs had it
coming.
Step, step, step. The grapes were motionless, the air still and heavy
and pressing down on him. Every nerve tingled with anticipation, on
the edge of explosion, looking for that telltale flicker of movement.
Looking for the target to make itself known. His own presence was
masked, Ranma was sure of it. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts.
Step, step, step. The world moved forward one step at a time,
centered around him. It moved because he willed it to do so. And
Bugs raised his head because Ranma wanted that, too.
They stood, staring at each other. Bugs looked more serious than
usual, his scabbed ear hanging limp. Ranma was going to kill him, the
rabbit would die, he was sure of it. Did Bugs know?
A knife thunked into the wooden post next to Bugs, and Bugs took off.
Ranma followed. Each hand held another knife. Bugs hopped left,
hopped right, a knife brushed through the fringes of its fur, missing
otherwise. Ranma pulled another knife out of his pocket as he ran,
his other hand preparing to throw again.
If Bugs was resigned to his death, knew it was coming, he didn't let
it show. The rabbit bound forward quickly and Ranma could barely keep
up, fast though he was. Bugs bounced from side to side but stayed in
the row, and they crossed the length of the field as they chased what
they wanted.
The field ended and they ran through the open area beyond. Bugs
should have turned but went straight instead and now had nowhere to
hide. If Ranma could throw well enough, Bugs would die.
A knife hit the earth a foot away from Bugs, dodged. With the follow-
up Ranma guessed better and it shot by Bugs' head, barely missing. He
was careful not to step on the weapons as he ran forward.
Bugs' took off to the right and a knife stabbed into his side, the
blade digging into the ribs and catching. Bugs tumbled over the
impediment, rolled to a stop.
Ranma halted just before the wounded animal. The side of Bugs' head
was toward Ranma and one of the rabbit's eyes stared at him. Bugs was
trying to move forward but the knife blocked the swing of its legs.
Blood seeped out around the blade, down to the grip. Bugs stared at
him.
Ranma watched as his furred enemy poured out crimson life until the
cup was empty. Bugs never stopped staring, not even after the
movement of its chest stopped. Ranma had won his supper.
Ranma sat cross-legged in front of the corpse, a knife in one of his
hands. It wasn't the one that had killed Bugs, that knife was still
stuck into the rabbit. The blood was dried. Ranma had poked Bugs a
few times and the bunny was stiffening. He needed to cook his supper.
There was no fire. He had wood, if he looked for loose or unused
boards from the grape fields, but no matches or lighter. The burnable
material he had available wasn't going to just burst into flames
without help. His pop would have found a way and Bugs would already
be cooking, if he were here.
Rabbit fur wasn't something he was willing to eat. His father had
caught rabbits and birds and such before and they had eaten the meat
product left over after Genma's butchering, but Ranma had never
watched the act itself. Little bits of entrails or organs or pieces
of red slimy stuff that looked like it could have come out of him was
always involved. So he just waited until it was time for dinner,
doing kata, preparing the rest of the meal, doing whatever involved
not watching a little animal be torn to pieces or plucked of feathers
or whatever it was his father would always do to the things.
Bugs stared at him.
Ranma set about removing the skin.
The grapes tasted raw and fleshy and sweet like blood. Ranma wondered
how he had ever been able to eat the things. He couldn't, now, only a
few going past his lips before they tried to come up again. No more.
He'd starve himself first.
He now had two less knives. The one that had killed Bugs was next to
the desecrated corpse. The other one, which he'd used to rip the body
apart as he tried to separate fur from everything else, clumps of the
stuff sticking to his bloody hands and getting on his clothes, he had
thrown that knife away. Hopefully he wouldn't wander across it and
step on the thing, the rabbit fur and blood tarnishing the blade and
infecting when it sliced into his unshod foot. But he didn't want to
carry it around in his pocket, either, and take it to the springs for
cleaning.
He'd gotten most of the blood off his hands, onto his clothes, which
were really Chloe's. The rest of his knives, which were really
Chloe's, were still in his pockets, eight of the things remaining
since he had taken the time to search for the ones he'd thrown at
Bugs. The ones that had missed. There was still some dried redness
covering his palms, though, which he hadn't been able to remove.
Maybe that had gotten onto the grapes, maybe that was why they tasted
like mutilated rabbit. He should probably wash his hands.
Ranma looked to see if Chloe's colorful splash of hair was by the
tree, in front of the Manor. It wasn't. He could have traded her a
bunch for half a sandwich, or a quarter. He was hungry, just not
enough to eat grapes. He probably would have left after the exchange,
to get around watching Chloe eat the things, seeing them chewed and
the seeds spat out with bits of corpse clinging stickily like bits of
Bugs' entrails.
But Chloe wasn't outside reading or munching on some Artena-made food,
instead she was still inside, crying and hating him and wishing he
would die. How long did that hormone stuff last?
He set off towards the springs, wanting to wash the blood off of his
hands.
Ranma opened his eyes and it was early morning. He'd fallen asleep
after scrubbing himself clean in the hot water. How had he managed to
not wake up while his stomach spent hours eating away at his spine?
He yawned, stretched, and the emptiness within ripped him in two. It
wasn't getting any grapes. They'd probably cause him to erupt like an
acid volcano if he tried some anyway, the disgusting things.
Maybe he should try sneaking some food out of Artena's kitchen.
Chloe slipped another knife into the last harness. She'd already
filled the other ones. Two more and she was loaded down completely.
Eight on each leg, five on each arm. A few went into her pockets for
good measure.
That girl would be arriving tomorrow. Artena said it didn't matter if
she killed Ranma before then, but it did to Chloe. She wanted to kill
the boy herself. She would kill the boy herself, to prove that she
was Noir, as she should be. She would be more than a second choice.
She would be deserving of being that girl's partner.
And so Ranma would die.
There was nobody in front of the Manor, again. Was Chloe still
crying? Artena served breakfast over an hour earlier, so Chloe should
have come outside by now, if she was going to. Was she in her room or
somewhere else? Where was Artena? The woman's writing area wasn't
between the front doorway and the kitchen, so if they were in those
rooms he could sneak in and out and not run into either of them.
Ranma circled around to one side of the Manor, walking through the
grape fields from a distance. Chloe's room was on this end of the
building but her window was small and set too high for the girl to see
through. Artena did her letters on the opposite side in a room with a
window that gave a good view of everything in that direction. So he'd
approach from the blind side and hope neither happened to be looking
out the wrong window from a room he hoped they wouldn't be in.
He stepped away from the fields, crossing the distance to the Manor.
Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts, but moving quickly. Sneaky thoughts,
quiet thoughts. Musn't get caught.
He reached the edge of the building, stopped, listened. Nothing. He
listened some more. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts, thoughts of big
floppy elephant ears that caught everything. Still nothing.
Ranma worked his way around to the front of the building, ducking
under the couple of windows that he came to. He peeked around the
corner, listened again. Chloe or Artena could come marching out the
doorway right after he stepped out of cover. He'd be seen instantly
if they just happened to look right. But he heard nothing.
The corner was huge and felt like the edge of one of those western
style beds when waking up from a nightmare, in the dark, knowing there
was something underneath and that if he bent down to look it would rip
his head off, or if he stepped out of the bed it would eat his feet,
then he wouldn't be able to run and he'd just be stuck there waiting
while it finished the appetizer. He hated western beds. Futons hid
nothing.
The corner didn't, either, and nothing happened when he stepped
around. He ducked under the front windows, peeking through as he went
to see if anybody was inside watching him, waiting for him. Nobody
was, that he could see. The front door loomed large and open and had
a maw like a snake's, ready to swallow him whole. Artena was probably
just inside, waiting patiently for him to make the turn, forbidding
entry with her passive aggression, Chloe a step behind. Would she be
crying, hateful, knives out and ready to attack? Probably the last.
Probably. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts.
The doorframe was the edge of the unknown. Everything lurked beyond.
Adrenaline fed him like the grapes he'd gorged on days before. No
aftertaste. Standing here on the brink wasn't good. If he turned and
looked and somebody was waiting for him, Chloe could attack with her
knives, stick him in the arm again before he could react. So he had
to do it quickly.
He jumped across to the other side, looking through the doorway as he
moved, ready to take off running. He didn't want to fight right here.
Nothing. An empty hallway. It was safe.
Ranma started to turn back, to step through the door, then froze.
What if Chloe or Artena had stepped into the corridor after he'd leapt
across the entrance? Useless thought. He turned and peeked around
the corner this time and nobody was still there. He stepped inside,
his bare feet perfect for moving quietly. The stone floor was cool.
A door on the right, not where he wanted to go. Somebody could be
beyond, though. He took a quick look, nothing. Sneaky thoughts,
quiet thoughts, listening like a bat. Echoes of silence bounced from
everywhere, reflected endlessly by the walls. His heart thumped out a
rapid punctuation of each imaginary approaching footstep. He knew he
was grinning and that he shouldn't be but couldn't help it. Sneaky
thoughts, quiet thoughts.
First door on the left. Dining room, then kitchen. There was no
reason for anybody to be within so he stepped into the room without
looking. He needed to get out of the hallway, which was too open,
doors on both sides leading to far too many rooms. The dining room
was empty and so was the kitchen. Empty of people.
He checked the cupboards quickly, opening the doors and closing them
rapidly as he checked for food. Lots of dishes stacked within, more
than needed for just Artena and Chloe. Who else ate here?
He found bread. Who brought bread? Artena must have made it,
otherwise it'd be stale. There hadn't been any people delivering
food, not that he had seen. Ranma grabbed a couple of short, fat
loaves, leaving most of ten. Artena said something from another room.
Ranma glimpsed out into the hallway and saw nothing. Artena must be
in one of the rooms along the side. But she might be about to enter
the hallway to go to the kitchen for a drink or something, so it was
time to go.
He ran towards the entrance and then outside, heading for the grape
fields again. Looking over his shoulder revealed nothing, there was
not a tall brunette or a shorter girl with reddish hair, watching
angrily as he made off with stolen food while wearing borrowed clothes
and carrying confiscated knives. Nobody watched at all.
He slowed down but kept the bread held in front of his body. If
nobody was looking there was no reason to flee, and if he was seen
doing that the missing bread might be noticed. He'd want to eat more
later, after all, so it was best to not give himself away.
His stomach tried to envelop the bread that was being held to it.
Should he eat the bread in a field of grapes? That seemed wrong,
somehow, but he was too hungry to walk out to the coliseum, which was
the next closest shelter. It had been almost a day since he'd eaten,
and that had just been more of those evil fruits.
He entered the fields, walking just a few rows deep before turning in.
He sat a short distance from the edge and looked down at the bread.
It was brown and rough, but heavy in his grasp, each loaf about the
size of his head. Could he eat it all?
Ranma brought one of the loaves up to his mouth, tore a great big
chunk off with his teeth. It was dry with a thick crust but very good
and his mouth did that shrieking suicide thing again that hurt so much
in reaction. He swallowed and a huge rolled-up towel worked its way
down his throat, catching in his ribs. Water?
A loud squawk from right behind made Ranma roll to the side ahead of a
flash of reflected sunlight.
beginning to hurt from the constant talking. In exchange for the
remaining grapes Ranma went and told Artena that Chloe was ready to
come in, then wandered back out to the grape fields, picking the bunch
clean as he went. There was just enough left to make sure he wouldn't
be hungry for a while, yet still not leave him wobbling about like a
drunkard filled to the brink. Not that that was a bad way to walk, it
was fun to copy his pop like that sometimes.
But he couldn't go running around easily on a full stomach.
He entered the field, tossing the desecrated bunch away, and pulled
out one of his knives. Only one, because trying to throw two at once
while running seemed to throw him off-balance, which just made his aim
even worse. He'd never catch anything that way. Besides, his other
hand and arm were still injured.
Ranma began walking down the rows as quietly as he could, thinking
sneaky thoughts just like his father had taught him to do.
The point of the knife stuck through the tip of the rabbit's ear. The
animal took off with even more effort, the knife bounced free before
he could throw another, and then it was gone, cutting through the
field.
Ranma stopped, short on breath, right in front of the knife. There
was a bit of blood on the blade, just a smearing of red, and a few
drops lead away, after the rabbit. He grinned, picked the weapon up,
and squeezed his way between the plants. The trail wasn't that easy
to find, but the red stood out barely enough on the dark and ripped
ground that he could follow it anyway.
Within just a few minutes it was impossible to continue the pursuit.
The blood was changing color with its contact to the air, darkening to
an almost brown that was imperceptibly different from the earth it
faded into.
He'd still hit the thing, though. He might not have killed the
rabbit, but he'd hit it for the first time. Next time he might be
eating it for dinner.
Ranma started walking again, aimlessly, thinking sneaky but triumphant
thoughts as he searched for his prey.
He never found it, though.
The next two days were very much the same. Ranma woke up, chased
around furred evil, then gorged himself on grapes and listened to
Chloe tell about the boy who was now being chased by a band of
harpies. The harpies were after the boy because he got something
called herpies from a girl named Monahr, Ranma wasn't sure how that
worked or what herpies really was, but the harpies seemed to think it
was a good thing, for some reason. Some of the story was confusing.
It was fun, though.
The first day Chloe limped back into the Manor on her own, still being
careful of her knee but it seemed more that she was being careful with
it than that she was really in pain. So Ranma figured she'd be able
to play again soon. His hand and arm were both almost completely
healed by that point.
The second day was a bit tense. Chloe came out walking almost
normally so Ranma sat down and listened to her read for a while. She
did, just as she had the previous few days. But he was waiting for
her to attack him, her leg healed enough by this time for them to have
some fun. But she never did. Chloe just read to him for a couple of
hours and then went inside. It was disappointing, but maybe she
wasn't really ready for that yet.
Ranma managed to sneak up on a rabbit that afternoon, but as soon as
he went to go after him with a knife, it bolted. Since he'd been
moving slowly, concentrating on stealth instead of outright attack, he
didn't adjust in time and it got away. But he was closer.
Chloe was wearing shorts the next day that cut off just above her
knees. They were just another pair of the pants she wore, with the
legs shortened, really. But Ranma could see nothing wrong with her
knee, no swelling or discoloration. Well, it wasn't strong and manly
looking like his were, but they looked fine for her, for a girl's
knees.
Despite that and the way Chloe didn't seem to have any trouble walking
when she came out, she still never attacked him. She didn't even wear
her harnesses, going weaponless as far as he could tell. She wasn't
good enough to fight him without her knives.
Ranma still waited until she had sat down before doing the same, just
in case. Chloe started reading.
"'The terrible diver turned out to not be that bad after all. He told
the boy that he hadn't really stolen the pearl, he was just returning
it to his wife, who had accidentally dropped it into the sea when they
went on their honeymoon. The giant pearl was the centerpiece of a
necklace the diver had given his wife as a present.
"'So the boy was stuck. Was it right to take the pearl away from the
diver's wife if it really belonged to her? On the other hand his
bladder was getting really full and if the boy didn't take the pearl
back to the merman king and have his beloved snake friend returned
soon, he might explode and die.'"
"Wait," interrupted Ranma, "why doesn't the boy just beat the merman
king up and take his beloved snake friend back that way? Then he
wouldn't have to take the pearl."
"Because the only place he could fight the merman king is underwater,
and the merman king is the one who cast the spell that makes it
possible for humans to breathe underwater. If the boy beat the merman
king up, the king would break the spell and the boy would drown."
Chloe looked annoyed. "I told you that already."
"But it's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair. Why would a story be?"
"It should be!" Ranma insisted.
Chloe stared at him. "You know what would be fair? It'd be fair if
I'd never had to meet you."
Grin. "You trying to start something?"
Chloe stood, and he jumped to his feet, ready for the fight he'd been
waiting on. She didn't move.
"It would be fair," she said, "if you'd just wandered off in your
crazy cat mode and gotten hit by a car. It would be fair if you died
and your body turned into the worm food that your brain already is.
IT WOULD BE FAIR IF YOU'D NEVER BEEN BORN!" she yelled at him
furiously.
Ranma frowned. "Hey, you don't have to--"
"You don't get it, do you? I hate you! I wish you would die!
Nothing could make me happier! Japan is east, okay? Go home, go to
hell, wherever, just leave me alone!"
Chloe collapsed onto her bed, rocking back and forth as she sobbed
into her pillow. It wasn't fair! Her time at the Manor was supposed
to be fun and spent with Artena and that girl, not taken up by some
stupid jerk! And he wouldn't leave her alone, he kept pestering and
pestering and trying to pick a fight like it was supposed to be a
game!
"Chloe."
She looked up. "Artena-sama? I--"
"I heard what you said, Chloe." The woman stood in the doorway. "Is
he really that bad?"
Chloe nodded, mute, looking down miserably. She held her breath to
keep from crying, clenched her eyes shut. It wasn't fair!
"I've tried to get him to relax around me, tried to get him to fall
asleep while I was talking, but he just won't! He just gets more and
more wound up and now there's just a few days left until that girl
gets here! And since I told him which way Japan is, now it's going to
be even harder to kill him in time!"
Footsteps, then a weight settled down next to her on the bed.
"Artena-sama?"
"Shh."
Chloe let herself be pulled into Artena's lap, wrapped her arms around
the woman.
"Don't worry about Ranma, Chloe. He's not going anywhere."
Artena killed him, and now Chloe was useless, not Noir as she was born
to be, blessed to be, raised to be.
"I don't think Ranma believed what you said. He's sitting outside
waiting for you to come back out. He has no idea why you're mad at
him."
Chloe looked up and Artena smiled at her. "Really?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, really."
"It doesn't matter anyway," Chloe said quietly. "It wasn't working.
Instead of getting bored and falling asleep, he keeps getting more
tense and waiting for me to attack him again."
Artena just shushed her again and began rocking back and forth
slightly on the bed, Chloe in her arms. "Don't worry about Ranma. He
doesn't matter. If you don't kill him before that girl gets here,
nothing bad will happen."
Chloe held on tighter. "Thank you, Artena-sama."
Ranma stared at the Manor entrance, waiting. Where was she? Chloe
went running inside an hour earlier after acting like she hated him,
for no reason. What was that about, anyway?
He picked up Chloe's book, which had been left behind, and opened it
to a random page. It was filled with gibberish, whatever nonsense
words and letters these French people seemed to use. What was it
really about? Chloe was making it up as she went along, he knew--the
number of words she read per page was widely inconsistent, and the
story had nothing to do with a looking glass, as she'd said the book
was called after.
Chloe didn't make sense. She was a girl after all. More fun than
most, but still just a girl who would run off crying for no reason at
all.
Ranma took the book up to the Manor entrance and left it on the floor
just inside the doorway. He'd go hunt rabbits, instead.
He walked towards the grape fields, slowly. Was east the way to go,
or had Chloe been lying just to get rid of him? South couldn't be it-
-there was nothing but more mountains in that direction. Same with
north.
Why would Chloe hate him? It's not like he'd done anything mean to
her. She kept starting fights, and he kept winning them. Why would
she get mad about that? Ukyou had gone and given him free food
whenever they finished fighting. Was the difference because Chloe was
a girl? Or was she just weird?
His dad had said stuff about girls being overemotional, and moody.
Was that what was wrong with Chloe, she was just in a bad mood? She'd
been crying when she ran off and he knew he hadn't done anything to
her. So maybe she hadn't really meant it, maybe she'd just had PMS or
whatever it was Pop had talked about. How long did that last?
Probably not more than a few hours, whenever he got mad it only took
that long for him to settle down.
So, he'd check back after lunch to see if she was fixed yet.
He wandered the fields, looking everywhere. The rabbits were hiding
better than they usually did and his whole sneaky thoughts, quiet
thoughts thing kept getting off track. Was it noon yet? A look at
the sky showed the sun as being just off center, so not quite.
Ranma continued his hunt. Grapes were particularly nauseous when they
were heated, as the things certainly were now. Little bubbles of hot
and sweet water that left him feeling thirsty on an already
uncomfortably warm day. Wasn't it supposed to be getting chilly?
Chloe might be sitting under the tree again, waiting for him with
another half of a sandwich, eying the thing and thinking about how
she'd much rather eat it than a bunch of boiling grapes. All happy
and in a good mood and sorry for getting mad at him earlier because
she was fixed now. Or she could still be inside crying. Which was
it?
He sat down and started to eat.
She wasn't under the tree, or even outside as far as he could tell.
Maybe she was still messed up. Maybe she didn't want to have to tell
him she was sorry for what she'd said.
Ranma turned around and headed back out to hunt for supper. He'd
catch a rabbit! He would!
The one with the scabbed ear he named Bugs. He'd seen those American
cartoons, and he knew it was the only name that fit. Bugs was
everywhere. Ranma would be at one edge of the grape fields, see Bugs,
chase him around for a little bit, and then the rabbit would disappear
down some invisible rabbit hole. Then the thing would pop back up
when he was way over on the other side of the fields, searching again
for his food, and the same thing would happen. It was like some
magician's trick of making a rabbit appear out of nowhere and then
sending it back to that same place again later.
Ranma was pretty sure that Bugs was the Satan those religious people
had been talking about when his pop dragged him to church on occasion.
The bunny was that evil. It even seemed to be waving its injured ear
at him whenever it was about to pull one of its vanishing acts,
taunting him. Seeya later, it seemed to say. It's been fun.
If not for the scabbed ear showing differently Ranma would suspect
that Bugs was the only bunny around. Any others that were present
either didn't want to mess with him or were just a whole lot better at
hiding. So he only saw a rabbit other than Bugs once in a while. He
was pretty sure there were more rabbits, hidden, that were just
laughing as Bugs played around with him.
Looking over at the Manor yielded nothing. Chloe wasn't there, wasn't
outside at the tree waiting for him to show up. The only thing he had
to play with was Bugs. He hated Bugs. Bugs laughed at him but kept
running away.
Bugs was gonna die.
Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts. Step. Sneaky thoughts, quiet
thoughts. Step. Repeat.
It was late afternoon, almost time to eat. He wasn't going to eat
grapes for dinner, not again, so he was gonna kill Bugs and eat him,
instead. Ranma was sure that the next level up in fare from eating
grapes was eating a grape-eating little monster. And Bugs had it
coming.
Step, step, step. The grapes were motionless, the air still and heavy
and pressing down on him. Every nerve tingled with anticipation, on
the edge of explosion, looking for that telltale flicker of movement.
Looking for the target to make itself known. His own presence was
masked, Ranma was sure of it. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts.
Step, step, step. The world moved forward one step at a time,
centered around him. It moved because he willed it to do so. And
Bugs raised his head because Ranma wanted that, too.
They stood, staring at each other. Bugs looked more serious than
usual, his scabbed ear hanging limp. Ranma was going to kill him, the
rabbit would die, he was sure of it. Did Bugs know?
A knife thunked into the wooden post next to Bugs, and Bugs took off.
Ranma followed. Each hand held another knife. Bugs hopped left,
hopped right, a knife brushed through the fringes of its fur, missing
otherwise. Ranma pulled another knife out of his pocket as he ran,
his other hand preparing to throw again.
If Bugs was resigned to his death, knew it was coming, he didn't let
it show. The rabbit bound forward quickly and Ranma could barely keep
up, fast though he was. Bugs bounced from side to side but stayed in
the row, and they crossed the length of the field as they chased what
they wanted.
The field ended and they ran through the open area beyond. Bugs
should have turned but went straight instead and now had nowhere to
hide. If Ranma could throw well enough, Bugs would die.
A knife hit the earth a foot away from Bugs, dodged. With the follow-
up Ranma guessed better and it shot by Bugs' head, barely missing. He
was careful not to step on the weapons as he ran forward.
Bugs' took off to the right and a knife stabbed into his side, the
blade digging into the ribs and catching. Bugs tumbled over the
impediment, rolled to a stop.
Ranma halted just before the wounded animal. The side of Bugs' head
was toward Ranma and one of the rabbit's eyes stared at him. Bugs was
trying to move forward but the knife blocked the swing of its legs.
Blood seeped out around the blade, down to the grip. Bugs stared at
him.
Ranma watched as his furred enemy poured out crimson life until the
cup was empty. Bugs never stopped staring, not even after the
movement of its chest stopped. Ranma had won his supper.
Ranma sat cross-legged in front of the corpse, a knife in one of his
hands. It wasn't the one that had killed Bugs, that knife was still
stuck into the rabbit. The blood was dried. Ranma had poked Bugs a
few times and the bunny was stiffening. He needed to cook his supper.
There was no fire. He had wood, if he looked for loose or unused
boards from the grape fields, but no matches or lighter. The burnable
material he had available wasn't going to just burst into flames
without help. His pop would have found a way and Bugs would already
be cooking, if he were here.
Rabbit fur wasn't something he was willing to eat. His father had
caught rabbits and birds and such before and they had eaten the meat
product left over after Genma's butchering, but Ranma had never
watched the act itself. Little bits of entrails or organs or pieces
of red slimy stuff that looked like it could have come out of him was
always involved. So he just waited until it was time for dinner,
doing kata, preparing the rest of the meal, doing whatever involved
not watching a little animal be torn to pieces or plucked of feathers
or whatever it was his father would always do to the things.
Bugs stared at him.
Ranma set about removing the skin.
The grapes tasted raw and fleshy and sweet like blood. Ranma wondered
how he had ever been able to eat the things. He couldn't, now, only a
few going past his lips before they tried to come up again. No more.
He'd starve himself first.
He now had two less knives. The one that had killed Bugs was next to
the desecrated corpse. The other one, which he'd used to rip the body
apart as he tried to separate fur from everything else, clumps of the
stuff sticking to his bloody hands and getting on his clothes, he had
thrown that knife away. Hopefully he wouldn't wander across it and
step on the thing, the rabbit fur and blood tarnishing the blade and
infecting when it sliced into his unshod foot. But he didn't want to
carry it around in his pocket, either, and take it to the springs for
cleaning.
He'd gotten most of the blood off his hands, onto his clothes, which
were really Chloe's. The rest of his knives, which were really
Chloe's, were still in his pockets, eight of the things remaining
since he had taken the time to search for the ones he'd thrown at
Bugs. The ones that had missed. There was still some dried redness
covering his palms, though, which he hadn't been able to remove.
Maybe that had gotten onto the grapes, maybe that was why they tasted
like mutilated rabbit. He should probably wash his hands.
Ranma looked to see if Chloe's colorful splash of hair was by the
tree, in front of the Manor. It wasn't. He could have traded her a
bunch for half a sandwich, or a quarter. He was hungry, just not
enough to eat grapes. He probably would have left after the exchange,
to get around watching Chloe eat the things, seeing them chewed and
the seeds spat out with bits of corpse clinging stickily like bits of
Bugs' entrails.
But Chloe wasn't outside reading or munching on some Artena-made food,
instead she was still inside, crying and hating him and wishing he
would die. How long did that hormone stuff last?
He set off towards the springs, wanting to wash the blood off of his
hands.
Ranma opened his eyes and it was early morning. He'd fallen asleep
after scrubbing himself clean in the hot water. How had he managed to
not wake up while his stomach spent hours eating away at his spine?
He yawned, stretched, and the emptiness within ripped him in two. It
wasn't getting any grapes. They'd probably cause him to erupt like an
acid volcano if he tried some anyway, the disgusting things.
Maybe he should try sneaking some food out of Artena's kitchen.
Chloe slipped another knife into the last harness. She'd already
filled the other ones. Two more and she was loaded down completely.
Eight on each leg, five on each arm. A few went into her pockets for
good measure.
That girl would be arriving tomorrow. Artena said it didn't matter if
she killed Ranma before then, but it did to Chloe. She wanted to kill
the boy herself. She would kill the boy herself, to prove that she
was Noir, as she should be. She would be more than a second choice.
She would be deserving of being that girl's partner.
And so Ranma would die.
There was nobody in front of the Manor, again. Was Chloe still
crying? Artena served breakfast over an hour earlier, so Chloe should
have come outside by now, if she was going to. Was she in her room or
somewhere else? Where was Artena? The woman's writing area wasn't
between the front doorway and the kitchen, so if they were in those
rooms he could sneak in and out and not run into either of them.
Ranma circled around to one side of the Manor, walking through the
grape fields from a distance. Chloe's room was on this end of the
building but her window was small and set too high for the girl to see
through. Artena did her letters on the opposite side in a room with a
window that gave a good view of everything in that direction. So he'd
approach from the blind side and hope neither happened to be looking
out the wrong window from a room he hoped they wouldn't be in.
He stepped away from the fields, crossing the distance to the Manor.
Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts, but moving quickly. Sneaky thoughts,
quiet thoughts. Musn't get caught.
He reached the edge of the building, stopped, listened. Nothing. He
listened some more. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts, thoughts of big
floppy elephant ears that caught everything. Still nothing.
Ranma worked his way around to the front of the building, ducking
under the couple of windows that he came to. He peeked around the
corner, listened again. Chloe or Artena could come marching out the
doorway right after he stepped out of cover. He'd be seen instantly
if they just happened to look right. But he heard nothing.
The corner was huge and felt like the edge of one of those western
style beds when waking up from a nightmare, in the dark, knowing there
was something underneath and that if he bent down to look it would rip
his head off, or if he stepped out of the bed it would eat his feet,
then he wouldn't be able to run and he'd just be stuck there waiting
while it finished the appetizer. He hated western beds. Futons hid
nothing.
The corner didn't, either, and nothing happened when he stepped
around. He ducked under the front windows, peeking through as he went
to see if anybody was inside watching him, waiting for him. Nobody
was, that he could see. The front door loomed large and open and had
a maw like a snake's, ready to swallow him whole. Artena was probably
just inside, waiting patiently for him to make the turn, forbidding
entry with her passive aggression, Chloe a step behind. Would she be
crying, hateful, knives out and ready to attack? Probably the last.
Probably. Sneaky thoughts, quiet thoughts.
The doorframe was the edge of the unknown. Everything lurked beyond.
Adrenaline fed him like the grapes he'd gorged on days before. No
aftertaste. Standing here on the brink wasn't good. If he turned and
looked and somebody was waiting for him, Chloe could attack with her
knives, stick him in the arm again before he could react. So he had
to do it quickly.
He jumped across to the other side, looking through the doorway as he
moved, ready to take off running. He didn't want to fight right here.
Nothing. An empty hallway. It was safe.
Ranma started to turn back, to step through the door, then froze.
What if Chloe or Artena had stepped into the corridor after he'd leapt
across the entrance? Useless thought. He turned and peeked around
the corner this time and nobody was still there. He stepped inside,
his bare feet perfect for moving quietly. The stone floor was cool.
A door on the right, not where he wanted to go. Somebody could be
beyond, though. He took a quick look, nothing. Sneaky thoughts,
quiet thoughts, listening like a bat. Echoes of silence bounced from
everywhere, reflected endlessly by the walls. His heart thumped out a
rapid punctuation of each imaginary approaching footstep. He knew he
was grinning and that he shouldn't be but couldn't help it. Sneaky
thoughts, quiet thoughts.
First door on the left. Dining room, then kitchen. There was no
reason for anybody to be within so he stepped into the room without
looking. He needed to get out of the hallway, which was too open,
doors on both sides leading to far too many rooms. The dining room
was empty and so was the kitchen. Empty of people.
He checked the cupboards quickly, opening the doors and closing them
rapidly as he checked for food. Lots of dishes stacked within, more
than needed for just Artena and Chloe. Who else ate here?
He found bread. Who brought bread? Artena must have made it,
otherwise it'd be stale. There hadn't been any people delivering
food, not that he had seen. Ranma grabbed a couple of short, fat
loaves, leaving most of ten. Artena said something from another room.
Ranma glimpsed out into the hallway and saw nothing. Artena must be
in one of the rooms along the side. But she might be about to enter
the hallway to go to the kitchen for a drink or something, so it was
time to go.
He ran towards the entrance and then outside, heading for the grape
fields again. Looking over his shoulder revealed nothing, there was
not a tall brunette or a shorter girl with reddish hair, watching
angrily as he made off with stolen food while wearing borrowed clothes
and carrying confiscated knives. Nobody watched at all.
He slowed down but kept the bread held in front of his body. If
nobody was looking there was no reason to flee, and if he was seen
doing that the missing bread might be noticed. He'd want to eat more
later, after all, so it was best to not give himself away.
His stomach tried to envelop the bread that was being held to it.
Should he eat the bread in a field of grapes? That seemed wrong,
somehow, but he was too hungry to walk out to the coliseum, which was
the next closest shelter. It had been almost a day since he'd eaten,
and that had just been more of those evil fruits.
He entered the fields, walking just a few rows deep before turning in.
He sat a short distance from the edge and looked down at the bread.
It was brown and rough, but heavy in his grasp, each loaf about the
size of his head. Could he eat it all?
Ranma brought one of the loaves up to his mouth, tore a great big
chunk off with his teeth. It was dry with a thick crust but very good
and his mouth did that shrieking suicide thing again that hurt so much
in reaction. He swallowed and a huge rolled-up towel worked its way
down his throat, catching in his ribs. Water?
A loud squawk from right behind made Ranma roll to the side ahead of a
flash of reflected sunlight.