"It's just too much to ask of me." Stated Genma. "I will not do it. Try
all you like, you will not convince me to train 'Kodora' in martial arts.
My son is my son, and I will NOT accept him as such when he isn't acting
like it."
Souun Tendou looked sadly at his old friend. He could tell that the man's son/daughter already had very little respect for him. Souun had hoped that spending so much time with his only child would have taught Genma better parenting skills. Apparently not.
"Very well." He said, nodding solemnly to his friend. "I suppose I shall simply train her myself, once she has healed enough. I only hope that your child still respects you despite this."
Genma laughed. "Are you kidding me? I'm all the boy knows to respect! I know him too well. All too soon, he'll give up on this little rebellion, and be back to normal."
Putting on a more serious face, Genma looked stolidly at the owner of the Tendou dojo. "Anyways, I have a new idea for a way to get Ranma and Akane together."
Souun frowned slightly. "Are you entirely sure that that is the best match? Shouldn't we ought to let them decide for themselves in time?"
The two stared at each other.
Then they broke out into laughter at the thought.
Had Genma been paying attention, however, he might have noticed that Souun's laughter seemed a little bit forced.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Passenger
Chapter 11: It's all about healing.
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by S. Starblade
Dedicated to spring, the end of March, and its nondenominational celebration of the end of winter.
Warning: I borrow stuff from fanfictions I like. If you like, feel free to borrow stuff from me. What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine. What's someone elses is also everybody's.
Disclaimer: Oh, for crying out loud. I'll bet you've seen enough of these to last you until the end of the world.
Key:
= English
" " = Japanese
[ ] = Jusenkyou Cursed Signs
{ } = Chinese
* * = Internal conversation between Ranma and Kodora
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
***Shortly after lunch, the day after Ch 10***
Kodora put down her Card Captor Sakura manga, and picked up the phone.
"Moshi-moshi, Tendou-ke."
"Ah. Hello, Yasha. It's me, Touhuu."
"Hello, Touhuu-sensei. Actually, name is Kodora now."
"Oh. Good, you chose a name. Kodora, then. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you. My neck feel fine, and the leg and arm only hurt a little. Is funny, but my ribs not broken anymore, either."
"Really. You're healing exceptionally fast. And your Japanese has improved a lot."
"Hai. Kasumi-san has been helping... Hello? Hello?"
Kodora looked at the phone handset. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why the line had gone dead. Oh, well. If it was important, Touhuu-sensei would probably call back. She couldn't call him- she didn't know the number.
*What the heck was THAT?*
*The phone going dead.*
Kodora grimaced.
*Ha-ha, Ranma. Very funny.*
Ranma metaphysically shrugged. *I try.*
Kasumi walked into the family room.
"Kodora-chan, who was that on the phone?"
Kodora looked up at the older girl from where she was sitting at the table, legs parallel to the side of the table, broken leg resting on a small pile of cushions.
"Touhuu-sensei. The connection cut off, though."
Kasumi looked puzzled. "What did he call about?"
"He never say. He ask about my speak Japanese, and I start to tell him you helping me, but then the line go dead."
Kasumi smiled pleasently, though it looked a trifle false to Kodora. "Oh, okay then. He'll call back shortly if it's important." Then she left back into the kitchen.
Kodora stared after the older girl.
*Wonder what THAT was about?*
*Beats me.*
Kodora groaned. *Ranma, have you ever heard of a thing called a "Rhetorical question"?*
******
At the school, Akane and Nabiki were surprised by Kuno.
He had discarded the armor and extra bokken, and seemed to have ditched the banner and all of the spirit-wards as well. He stood under his favorite tree, in his kendo garb, bokken in its case on his back, holding a small good-luck charm, what seemed to be a small scroll, and a ping-pong-ball- sized "weeping Buddha" statuette.
Furthermore, he didn't pester them at all.
That day, even Akane and Nabiki gave Kuno a wide berth.
******
Kuno stood on the roof at lunch, on the edge above the school clock, the objects he'd held that morning in his bookbag, and his bento in hand, looking out over the city.
"Sasuke was right for once. I really shouldn't have eaten my sister's cooking. Why she went back to hallucinogens, I'll never know."
There was a short pause, maybe two minutes, before everybody's favorite off- kilter kendoist spoke again.
"Should my fears prove true of the feral one, I must make amends."
A small white mouse crawled out of the bento in Kuno's hand, dropped to the roof, and scampered away as fast as it could, leaving a streak of what seemed to be sweet-and-sour sauce behind it.
******
Souun walked into Kasumi's bedroom, to find Kodora lying asleep in the bed, a green rabbit with a yellow-and-black bandana sitting watch over her from the pillow her head wasn't on.
He paused a moment and blinked. She had been telling the truth. Although where the rabbit had been since last night, he had no clue.
Souun shrugged and walked over to the bed, not surprised by the fact that the rabbit seemed totally unafraid of him. This WAS Nerima, after all.
He took Kodora by the shoulder and gently shook her awake. "Kodora. Kodora."
The small girl resisted the attempt to wake her up. Even when the rabbit tried to help.
Souun got a thoughtful look on his face, then headed downstairs.
******
Kasumi looked at the tray of cookies she'd just baked. She was sure there had been one more than that. That recipie always made thirty-five cookies.
******
Chuckling to himself, Souun waved the cookie in front of Kodora's face. This had always worked with Genma, and if Genma's child was anything like the man himself...
Sure enough, the small girl woke up, and her first action was to snatch the cookie from the man's hand.
Souun blinked. Of course, Genma hadn't ever taken the bait with his mouth directly, preferring to grab it and retreat before eating.
Chewing, Kodora looked up at Souun quizically. "Mph whmp yf thff mbmmt?"
Noting that Souun had very little knowledge of the language of "My mouth is full", Kodora swallowed, and repeated. "And what is this about?"
Souun, checking to see that all his fingers were intact, took a moment to respond. The girl had very good distance judgement.
"Touhuu-sensei wishes for me to bring you to his clinic for a checkup. You haven't had one as a girl yet, have you?"
Licking her fangs clean, Kodora shook her head 'no'. Then she stared at the rabbit, which had its paws over its nose. Ooo-kayyyy.....
Souun nodded. "Kasumi is kind of busy today, so I will take you there."
Kodora smiled and nodded. "Arigato gozaimasu, Tendou-san."
The moustachioed man laughed gently. "Please, call me uncle. We are practically family."
******
Lunchbreak over, and most of the class after it, Tatewaki finally came down from the roof of the school, having not even opened his bento. He noticed the hole in it, however, and had patched it up.
Nabiki frowned as Kuno accepted his water-bucket punishment without objecting. Usually, he would have spouted at least a full stanza of poetry on his way out of the room, but the school's resident swordsman had been totally silent. He'd looked almost as if he were... thinking. God forbid.
Nabiki was trying so hard to figure it out, she almost got bucket duty herself.
******
This was uncomfortable, Kodora thought.
Then Touhuu-sensei began the next step of the examination, and she amended that thought. This was embarassing, unnerving, somewhat violating, and extremely uncomfortable.
It was actually somewhat of a relief when he got to checking her tail for... whatever he was checking it for... even though he still wasn't using a gentle enough touch on the appendage to keep her from wincing.
******
Souun sat in the waiting room of the clinic, the green rabbit on the sofa cushion next to him, and considered the animal. It didn't look at all diseased or anything, and he hadn't seen any fleas. It would probably be okay to have it around. After all, it certainly couldn't put any more strain on the house than Genma's panda form, considering how much shampoo and bathwater he used. Not to mention towels. Lots and LOTS of towels.
******
Touhuu had progressed to checking on Kodora's former injuries, which she was comfortable enough with to converse with the doctor.
"So, Touhuu-sensei, why did the phone line cut off anyways? Oh, what I was saying was that Kasmmp mmph?"
The doctor had his hand over Kodora's mouth, and his glasses were trying to fog over. "P-p-please don't s-say that name." He stated, trembling.
Eyes wide, the small girl nodded.
"T-t-thank you." Touhuu removed his hand from Kodora's mouth, leaned on the examination table, and took a few deep breaths.
"Ah, Touhuu-sensei? Why you do that? Is something wrong?"
Touhuu shook his head, resuming his former action. "No, nothing's wrong as long as you don't say t-that n-name." Forcefully, he pushed Kasumi from his mind, sweating slightly.
The demon-girl nodded, deciding to ask Souun or Kasumi about it later.
******
Touhuu had called Souun into the examination room, after letting Kodora get dressed again.
"It's quite amazing." the doctor began, brandishing the splint that had been on part of the girl's tail. "It's almost as though she had the chi control of a very good martial artist- her healing rate has been greatly enhanced. At this rate, I'd say she'll be able to get the casts off and okay to go to school within another four days. The bones are almost done knitting." He peered at Kodora. "Are you sure you don't know martial arts at all?"
She nodded, her quills rattling softly against each other. "Ojisan Tendou has been teaching me healing meditation, though.."
Touhuu looked at the Tendou patriarch, surprised. "I thought you hadn't tought since..." He left off.
Souun, for once, managed not to cry. "I hadn't. But... I realized that Akane's skills have been hurting from lack of instruction, and... Kodora here needed my help... I've been mourning long enough. It's time to get back up on that horse, and ride the ride of life again."
Kodora smiled. Her Western euphemisms had been rubbing off on the man, and they suited him well.
******
Standing in the kitchen, as Kasumi worked on dinner, Kodora decided to ask. "Kasumi, why does Touhuu-sensei not like to talk about you?"
Kasumi winced, almost cutting herself with the vegetable knife. "It's... it's my fault. You see, our mother.. she died of cancer."
Despite the fact that the other girl couldn't see her, Kodora nodded encouragingly.
"But," continued the eldest Tendou daughter, "Touhuu-sensei was the one who discovered it. And when Mother passed away, I sort of blamed him at first..."
Kasumi turned her attention to the pots on the stove, wiping one hand on her aqua-green apron. "So, maybe a week after Mother died, I went to his clinic and yelled at him until I couldn't anymore. I frightened the poor man halfway up his wall, I used such language." Turning to face her houseguest, Kasumi gave Kodora a sad look. "I went back the very next day to apologize, but when he looked at me, his glasses fogged up, and he started acting like... like someone high on some drug or other, dancing with his skeleton, trying to practice chiropracty on bookcases... Ever since then, even mentioning me can make him go a little nuts. I keep trying to go and apologize, bring him gifts or snacks or cookies, things like that, but every time I do, he loses it. I have such respect for the man, too."
At this, Kasumi smiled her normal, cheery smile. "I plan on becoming a doctor, too. I always have Akane or Nabiki borrow books from Touhuu-sensei for me. Once my imoutochan are off on their own, in college, I want to go to college too, and then medical school."
Kodora reflected Kasumi's smile, noting that the larger girl really didn't want to talk about this, and decided to continue in the new vein of the conversation.
******
Lying in bed that night, trying to get to sleep, Ono Touhuu shivered. It wasn't often he was reminded of Kasumi such that he began recalling it this vividly.
After the then-nine-year-old-girl had chewed him out over her mother, he expected her to return later and apologize. It wasn't in little Kasumi's nature to do that sort of thing to someone. She'd even used the Tendou Demon Head trick on him.
But, he'd had a surprise waiting for him when he'd headed upstairs from the clinic into the living area that night.
She had been waiting for him. He'd stepped up to her to ask her why she was there, how she'd gotten in...
And then something horrible had happened.
All the skin and flesh on Kasumi's face had melted away, and her body bloated up. She'd started yelling at him again, so loud that the words were incomprehensible, and then the skull-mouth had opened impossibly wide, growing all the while...
He'd fallen in, and hadn't stopped.
Not when the five-armed fuschia dwarf had sliced open his head with a battle-axe.
Not when the giant mosquitoes had sucked him dry right where he could see.
Not even when he'd hit the stalagmites at the bottom of the pit, for they'd pierced him, broken off, and the whole mess had gone rolling off another edge.
Then things had gotten strange.
He remembered running through an Escher Stairs painting, chased by chainsaw- wielding maniacs.
And, of course, the part where a hamburger sandwich had grilled him and eaten him. Slowly.
He would NEVER forget when bloated/skull-Kasumi had reappeared and begun slowly cutting him to shreds, from the edges in. So much blood.
And there were parts he'd blanked out entirely.
The insanity was a shield, and an injury. It was like a scar. He remembered, and it drove him insane. But, since he was insane, it couldn't be done to him again.
And every year, at the same time...
He would have the nightmare.
At least noone complained when he took the three week vacation. But it was getting harder to find a place where his screams wouldn't bring police, and wake neighbors.
******
The cats were out that night.
And for some reason, they were heading for the Tendou Dojo.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I know, I know, that was a bit of a dark part, towards the end there. I know this isn't classified as "dark". Live with it. I have to live with not being able to classify this right. It really, by the time I'm done with it, will probably fit into all, or almost all of the categories possible.
At least, that's my goal.
Oh, and whoever it was that said not for Kodora to get a boyfriend or husband. Why not? Gimme a reason. Not that I have plans one way or the other right now. I'd just like to know your reason.
Till next time, Ja ne!
Souun Tendou looked sadly at his old friend. He could tell that the man's son/daughter already had very little respect for him. Souun had hoped that spending so much time with his only child would have taught Genma better parenting skills. Apparently not.
"Very well." He said, nodding solemnly to his friend. "I suppose I shall simply train her myself, once she has healed enough. I only hope that your child still respects you despite this."
Genma laughed. "Are you kidding me? I'm all the boy knows to respect! I know him too well. All too soon, he'll give up on this little rebellion, and be back to normal."
Putting on a more serious face, Genma looked stolidly at the owner of the Tendou dojo. "Anyways, I have a new idea for a way to get Ranma and Akane together."
Souun frowned slightly. "Are you entirely sure that that is the best match? Shouldn't we ought to let them decide for themselves in time?"
The two stared at each other.
Then they broke out into laughter at the thought.
Had Genma been paying attention, however, he might have noticed that Souun's laughter seemed a little bit forced.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Passenger
Chapter 11: It's all about healing.
A Ranma 1/2 fanfiction by S. Starblade
Dedicated to spring, the end of March, and its nondenominational celebration of the end of winter.
Warning: I borrow stuff from fanfictions I like. If you like, feel free to borrow stuff from me. What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine. What's someone elses is also everybody's.
Disclaimer: Oh, for crying out loud. I'll bet you've seen enough of these to last you until the end of the world.
Key:
= English
" " = Japanese
[ ] = Jusenkyou Cursed Signs
{ } = Chinese
* * = Internal conversation between Ranma and Kodora
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
***Shortly after lunch, the day after Ch 10***
Kodora put down her Card Captor Sakura manga, and picked up the phone.
"Moshi-moshi, Tendou-ke."
"Ah. Hello, Yasha. It's me, Touhuu."
"Hello, Touhuu-sensei. Actually, name is Kodora now."
"Oh. Good, you chose a name. Kodora, then. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you. My neck feel fine, and the leg and arm only hurt a little. Is funny, but my ribs not broken anymore, either."
"Really. You're healing exceptionally fast. And your Japanese has improved a lot."
"Hai. Kasumi-san has been helping... Hello? Hello?"
Kodora looked at the phone handset. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why the line had gone dead. Oh, well. If it was important, Touhuu-sensei would probably call back. She couldn't call him- she didn't know the number.
*What the heck was THAT?*
*The phone going dead.*
Kodora grimaced.
*Ha-ha, Ranma. Very funny.*
Ranma metaphysically shrugged. *I try.*
Kasumi walked into the family room.
"Kodora-chan, who was that on the phone?"
Kodora looked up at the older girl from where she was sitting at the table, legs parallel to the side of the table, broken leg resting on a small pile of cushions.
"Touhuu-sensei. The connection cut off, though."
Kasumi looked puzzled. "What did he call about?"
"He never say. He ask about my speak Japanese, and I start to tell him you helping me, but then the line go dead."
Kasumi smiled pleasently, though it looked a trifle false to Kodora. "Oh, okay then. He'll call back shortly if it's important." Then she left back into the kitchen.
Kodora stared after the older girl.
*Wonder what THAT was about?*
*Beats me.*
Kodora groaned. *Ranma, have you ever heard of a thing called a "Rhetorical question"?*
******
At the school, Akane and Nabiki were surprised by Kuno.
He had discarded the armor and extra bokken, and seemed to have ditched the banner and all of the spirit-wards as well. He stood under his favorite tree, in his kendo garb, bokken in its case on his back, holding a small good-luck charm, what seemed to be a small scroll, and a ping-pong-ball- sized "weeping Buddha" statuette.
Furthermore, he didn't pester them at all.
That day, even Akane and Nabiki gave Kuno a wide berth.
******
Kuno stood on the roof at lunch, on the edge above the school clock, the objects he'd held that morning in his bookbag, and his bento in hand, looking out over the city.
"Sasuke was right for once. I really shouldn't have eaten my sister's cooking. Why she went back to hallucinogens, I'll never know."
There was a short pause, maybe two minutes, before everybody's favorite off- kilter kendoist spoke again.
"Should my fears prove true of the feral one, I must make amends."
A small white mouse crawled out of the bento in Kuno's hand, dropped to the roof, and scampered away as fast as it could, leaving a streak of what seemed to be sweet-and-sour sauce behind it.
******
Souun walked into Kasumi's bedroom, to find Kodora lying asleep in the bed, a green rabbit with a yellow-and-black bandana sitting watch over her from the pillow her head wasn't on.
He paused a moment and blinked. She had been telling the truth. Although where the rabbit had been since last night, he had no clue.
Souun shrugged and walked over to the bed, not surprised by the fact that the rabbit seemed totally unafraid of him. This WAS Nerima, after all.
He took Kodora by the shoulder and gently shook her awake. "Kodora. Kodora."
The small girl resisted the attempt to wake her up. Even when the rabbit tried to help.
Souun got a thoughtful look on his face, then headed downstairs.
******
Kasumi looked at the tray of cookies she'd just baked. She was sure there had been one more than that. That recipie always made thirty-five cookies.
******
Chuckling to himself, Souun waved the cookie in front of Kodora's face. This had always worked with Genma, and if Genma's child was anything like the man himself...
Sure enough, the small girl woke up, and her first action was to snatch the cookie from the man's hand.
Souun blinked. Of course, Genma hadn't ever taken the bait with his mouth directly, preferring to grab it and retreat before eating.
Chewing, Kodora looked up at Souun quizically. "Mph whmp yf thff mbmmt?"
Noting that Souun had very little knowledge of the language of "My mouth is full", Kodora swallowed, and repeated. "And what is this about?"
Souun, checking to see that all his fingers were intact, took a moment to respond. The girl had very good distance judgement.
"Touhuu-sensei wishes for me to bring you to his clinic for a checkup. You haven't had one as a girl yet, have you?"
Licking her fangs clean, Kodora shook her head 'no'. Then she stared at the rabbit, which had its paws over its nose. Ooo-kayyyy.....
Souun nodded. "Kasumi is kind of busy today, so I will take you there."
Kodora smiled and nodded. "Arigato gozaimasu, Tendou-san."
The moustachioed man laughed gently. "Please, call me uncle. We are practically family."
******
Lunchbreak over, and most of the class after it, Tatewaki finally came down from the roof of the school, having not even opened his bento. He noticed the hole in it, however, and had patched it up.
Nabiki frowned as Kuno accepted his water-bucket punishment without objecting. Usually, he would have spouted at least a full stanza of poetry on his way out of the room, but the school's resident swordsman had been totally silent. He'd looked almost as if he were... thinking. God forbid.
Nabiki was trying so hard to figure it out, she almost got bucket duty herself.
******
This was uncomfortable, Kodora thought.
Then Touhuu-sensei began the next step of the examination, and she amended that thought. This was embarassing, unnerving, somewhat violating, and extremely uncomfortable.
It was actually somewhat of a relief when he got to checking her tail for... whatever he was checking it for... even though he still wasn't using a gentle enough touch on the appendage to keep her from wincing.
******
Souun sat in the waiting room of the clinic, the green rabbit on the sofa cushion next to him, and considered the animal. It didn't look at all diseased or anything, and he hadn't seen any fleas. It would probably be okay to have it around. After all, it certainly couldn't put any more strain on the house than Genma's panda form, considering how much shampoo and bathwater he used. Not to mention towels. Lots and LOTS of towels.
******
Touhuu had progressed to checking on Kodora's former injuries, which she was comfortable enough with to converse with the doctor.
"So, Touhuu-sensei, why did the phone line cut off anyways? Oh, what I was saying was that Kasmmp mmph?"
The doctor had his hand over Kodora's mouth, and his glasses were trying to fog over. "P-p-please don't s-say that name." He stated, trembling.
Eyes wide, the small girl nodded.
"T-t-thank you." Touhuu removed his hand from Kodora's mouth, leaned on the examination table, and took a few deep breaths.
"Ah, Touhuu-sensei? Why you do that? Is something wrong?"
Touhuu shook his head, resuming his former action. "No, nothing's wrong as long as you don't say t-that n-name." Forcefully, he pushed Kasumi from his mind, sweating slightly.
The demon-girl nodded, deciding to ask Souun or Kasumi about it later.
******
Touhuu had called Souun into the examination room, after letting Kodora get dressed again.
"It's quite amazing." the doctor began, brandishing the splint that had been on part of the girl's tail. "It's almost as though she had the chi control of a very good martial artist- her healing rate has been greatly enhanced. At this rate, I'd say she'll be able to get the casts off and okay to go to school within another four days. The bones are almost done knitting." He peered at Kodora. "Are you sure you don't know martial arts at all?"
She nodded, her quills rattling softly against each other. "Ojisan Tendou has been teaching me healing meditation, though.."
Touhuu looked at the Tendou patriarch, surprised. "I thought you hadn't tought since..." He left off.
Souun, for once, managed not to cry. "I hadn't. But... I realized that Akane's skills have been hurting from lack of instruction, and... Kodora here needed my help... I've been mourning long enough. It's time to get back up on that horse, and ride the ride of life again."
Kodora smiled. Her Western euphemisms had been rubbing off on the man, and they suited him well.
******
Standing in the kitchen, as Kasumi worked on dinner, Kodora decided to ask. "Kasumi, why does Touhuu-sensei not like to talk about you?"
Kasumi winced, almost cutting herself with the vegetable knife. "It's... it's my fault. You see, our mother.. she died of cancer."
Despite the fact that the other girl couldn't see her, Kodora nodded encouragingly.
"But," continued the eldest Tendou daughter, "Touhuu-sensei was the one who discovered it. And when Mother passed away, I sort of blamed him at first..."
Kasumi turned her attention to the pots on the stove, wiping one hand on her aqua-green apron. "So, maybe a week after Mother died, I went to his clinic and yelled at him until I couldn't anymore. I frightened the poor man halfway up his wall, I used such language." Turning to face her houseguest, Kasumi gave Kodora a sad look. "I went back the very next day to apologize, but when he looked at me, his glasses fogged up, and he started acting like... like someone high on some drug or other, dancing with his skeleton, trying to practice chiropracty on bookcases... Ever since then, even mentioning me can make him go a little nuts. I keep trying to go and apologize, bring him gifts or snacks or cookies, things like that, but every time I do, he loses it. I have such respect for the man, too."
At this, Kasumi smiled her normal, cheery smile. "I plan on becoming a doctor, too. I always have Akane or Nabiki borrow books from Touhuu-sensei for me. Once my imoutochan are off on their own, in college, I want to go to college too, and then medical school."
Kodora reflected Kasumi's smile, noting that the larger girl really didn't want to talk about this, and decided to continue in the new vein of the conversation.
******
Lying in bed that night, trying to get to sleep, Ono Touhuu shivered. It wasn't often he was reminded of Kasumi such that he began recalling it this vividly.
After the then-nine-year-old-girl had chewed him out over her mother, he expected her to return later and apologize. It wasn't in little Kasumi's nature to do that sort of thing to someone. She'd even used the Tendou Demon Head trick on him.
But, he'd had a surprise waiting for him when he'd headed upstairs from the clinic into the living area that night.
She had been waiting for him. He'd stepped up to her to ask her why she was there, how she'd gotten in...
And then something horrible had happened.
All the skin and flesh on Kasumi's face had melted away, and her body bloated up. She'd started yelling at him again, so loud that the words were incomprehensible, and then the skull-mouth had opened impossibly wide, growing all the while...
He'd fallen in, and hadn't stopped.
Not when the five-armed fuschia dwarf had sliced open his head with a battle-axe.
Not when the giant mosquitoes had sucked him dry right where he could see.
Not even when he'd hit the stalagmites at the bottom of the pit, for they'd pierced him, broken off, and the whole mess had gone rolling off another edge.
Then things had gotten strange.
He remembered running through an Escher Stairs painting, chased by chainsaw- wielding maniacs.
And, of course, the part where a hamburger sandwich had grilled him and eaten him. Slowly.
He would NEVER forget when bloated/skull-Kasumi had reappeared and begun slowly cutting him to shreds, from the edges in. So much blood.
And there were parts he'd blanked out entirely.
The insanity was a shield, and an injury. It was like a scar. He remembered, and it drove him insane. But, since he was insane, it couldn't be done to him again.
And every year, at the same time...
He would have the nightmare.
At least noone complained when he took the three week vacation. But it was getting harder to find a place where his screams wouldn't bring police, and wake neighbors.
******
The cats were out that night.
And for some reason, they were heading for the Tendou Dojo.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I know, I know, that was a bit of a dark part, towards the end there. I know this isn't classified as "dark". Live with it. I have to live with not being able to classify this right. It really, by the time I'm done with it, will probably fit into all, or almost all of the categories possible.
At least, that's my goal.
Oh, and whoever it was that said not for Kodora to get a boyfriend or husband. Why not? Gimme a reason. Not that I have plans one way or the other right now. I'd just like to know your reason.
Till next time, Ja ne!