Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
===
CHAPTER 2: ENTER RANMA SAOTOME
Ranma Saotome rapped on Akane Tendou's door.
"Akane," he said. "Kasumi wanted me to call you for dinner.
He turned to continue walking down the hall. Akane didn't reply. Ranma glanced back over his shoulder.
"Akane?" he asked. He knocked on the door again. There was no sound. "Hey, it's dinner," Ranma repeated. There was still no noise, and he didn't sense any movement in the room. After hesitating, Ranma opened the door a crack. It was dark, considering there were was no light and it was late evening.
When his eyes had adjusted, he saw that she was sleeping in bed, still in her complete school uniform. Ranma turned on the light switch.
"Hey," Ranma said, making his way to the bed. He reached out to poke Akane's cheek. "Wake up, un-cute tomboy," he said, enjoying his moment of poking at Akane without her pounding him to the ground.
Akane didn't stir. Ranma shook her shoulder. Her breathing didn't even slow down. He shook her shoulder again more roughly. When there was no reaction whatsoever, he started to become concerned.
"Hey," Ranma said again. After wavering, he leaned in so that he could be closer to Akane's face.
"Un-cute tomboy!" Nothing. "UN-CUTE TOMBOY!" Nothing again.
Only then did Ranma notice the packaging paper on her table. The dark red crimson wrapping shone dully in the fluorescent light of Akane's room. He caught sight of the sloppy lettering on the paper, and neared to read it. After he did, he laid the paper back on the table and looked around.
Where was the package? He surveyed the room, and his eyes came to rest on the thrown box close to the door. He approached it, and picked it up. But the box had to be empty. It was too light to be holding anything solid.
With a slight feeling of apprehension, he opened the box... a sour- smelling gray smoke came at him. Choking, Ranma immediately threw the box towards the direction of the window.
He staggered backwards... and slumped against the door.
He closed his eyes to sleep.
===
Moments later, Ranma Saotome opened his eyes, fully alert. He was lying down on a tacky white couch. When he looked around, he saw that Akane was sitting cross-legged on the white floor beside the couch, facing away from him.
"Akane," Ranma said. She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. She looked over her shoulder at him. The whitewashed room was giving him a headache. Everything glowed and was illuminated, though there was no sign of any lamp or lighting.
"Ranma, you're here," Akane said. The concern in her voice made his gut start to turn in apprehension.
"Where are we?" Ranma asked in a low voice. "What are you doing here?"
Akane told him everything that had happened when she'd woken up. Ranma listened without interruption. They sat in silence when she was finished.
"Finally, the two of you are here," came a familiar, thin wisp of a voice. Akane stiffened and glanced around, but the shadowy being didn't appear. "Now the fun can begin."
Akane jumped up from where she had been sitting on the floor, her fists clenched. Ranma sprang from the couch and landed beside Akane. The two stared at the ceiling, where the voice was seemingly coming from. Akane opened her mouth to speak.
"You're wrong about us!" she said. She jabbed a finger at Ranma. "We have no feelings whatsoever for each other!"
"Y-Yeah," Ranma said, taking her lead. There was a brief silence afterwards. The two strained their ears for the answer.
"That's not what my client seems to think," said the voice. "If you reach the rooftop alive, then I will admit my defeat and send you back. Of course, by that time, the two of you will be burning with a consuming hatred for each other, guaranteed. And it's another possibility that you two will die trying to reach the top."
The wooden door at the end of the room swung open abruptly. Ranma and Akane jumped. They could see that there was a steep oak staircase leading up. The voice snickered, as if the thought of the two of them struggling was amusing.
"As you know, you are now in the basement. There are seven floors in all, of which you must go through to proceed to the next. For each level that you complete, I will give you a prize. I do have a heart, you know. So here's an item before you go on to the first floor."
The voice had been fading away slowly, and by the time the last sentence was uttered, it had disappeared completely. At the same time, an object materialized in front of the wooden steps. Hesitantly, Akane and Ranma approached to take a look at it.
"A dagger?" Akane asked, picking it up to take a look. She unsheathed it. The blade was one foot long, and a finger's width wide. The metal was very well sharpened at one side; clearly very sharp. The hilt and sheath were made of smooth marble.
"You keep it," Ranma said after he'd examined it himself. "You might need it."
"...Okay," Akane said hesitantly. She sheathed the dagger and put it in her right school uniform pocket. Her pocket was very deep, and the dagger fit with only the hilt sticking out. Ranma watched her put away the dagger. Akane straightened up.
The two proceeded up the flight of stairs, Akane leading the way. At the end of the stairs, they came across another oaken door with a brass knob. She reached out to turn the knob, but Ranma grabbed her arm. He shook his head apprehensively. He looked towards the door, his usual confidence dampening. He was well prepared to take any challenge that might be behind the door, but with someone else to look after...
"Let me do it," Akane said stubbornly. "There might be something dangerous on the other side."
'Which is exactly the point,' Ranma thought to himself, bristling. He braced himself to open it himself. But before he could stop her, Akane had reached out with her other hand and turned the knob. Ranma moved over in front of her, pushing her out of the way.
There was a hollow metallic click as the latch gave way and the door swung open...
===
END OF CHAPTER
FINALLY RANMA MAKES HIS ENTRANCE, AND THE STORY CAN GO UNDER WAY... PLEASE REVIEW MY WORK AFTER EVERY CHAPTER IF POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE IT. IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME IF YOU'D TAKE TIME TO COMMENT ON MY WORK. YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME PERSONALLY IF YOU WANT...
AT: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com
===
CHAPTER 2: ENTER RANMA SAOTOME
Ranma Saotome rapped on Akane Tendou's door.
"Akane," he said. "Kasumi wanted me to call you for dinner.
He turned to continue walking down the hall. Akane didn't reply. Ranma glanced back over his shoulder.
"Akane?" he asked. He knocked on the door again. There was no sound. "Hey, it's dinner," Ranma repeated. There was still no noise, and he didn't sense any movement in the room. After hesitating, Ranma opened the door a crack. It was dark, considering there were was no light and it was late evening.
When his eyes had adjusted, he saw that she was sleeping in bed, still in her complete school uniform. Ranma turned on the light switch.
"Hey," Ranma said, making his way to the bed. He reached out to poke Akane's cheek. "Wake up, un-cute tomboy," he said, enjoying his moment of poking at Akane without her pounding him to the ground.
Akane didn't stir. Ranma shook her shoulder. Her breathing didn't even slow down. He shook her shoulder again more roughly. When there was no reaction whatsoever, he started to become concerned.
"Hey," Ranma said again. After wavering, he leaned in so that he could be closer to Akane's face.
"Un-cute tomboy!" Nothing. "UN-CUTE TOMBOY!" Nothing again.
Only then did Ranma notice the packaging paper on her table. The dark red crimson wrapping shone dully in the fluorescent light of Akane's room. He caught sight of the sloppy lettering on the paper, and neared to read it. After he did, he laid the paper back on the table and looked around.
Where was the package? He surveyed the room, and his eyes came to rest on the thrown box close to the door. He approached it, and picked it up. But the box had to be empty. It was too light to be holding anything solid.
With a slight feeling of apprehension, he opened the box... a sour- smelling gray smoke came at him. Choking, Ranma immediately threw the box towards the direction of the window.
He staggered backwards... and slumped against the door.
He closed his eyes to sleep.
===
Moments later, Ranma Saotome opened his eyes, fully alert. He was lying down on a tacky white couch. When he looked around, he saw that Akane was sitting cross-legged on the white floor beside the couch, facing away from him.
"Akane," Ranma said. She jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. She looked over her shoulder at him. The whitewashed room was giving him a headache. Everything glowed and was illuminated, though there was no sign of any lamp or lighting.
"Ranma, you're here," Akane said. The concern in her voice made his gut start to turn in apprehension.
"Where are we?" Ranma asked in a low voice. "What are you doing here?"
Akane told him everything that had happened when she'd woken up. Ranma listened without interruption. They sat in silence when she was finished.
"Finally, the two of you are here," came a familiar, thin wisp of a voice. Akane stiffened and glanced around, but the shadowy being didn't appear. "Now the fun can begin."
Akane jumped up from where she had been sitting on the floor, her fists clenched. Ranma sprang from the couch and landed beside Akane. The two stared at the ceiling, where the voice was seemingly coming from. Akane opened her mouth to speak.
"You're wrong about us!" she said. She jabbed a finger at Ranma. "We have no feelings whatsoever for each other!"
"Y-Yeah," Ranma said, taking her lead. There was a brief silence afterwards. The two strained their ears for the answer.
"That's not what my client seems to think," said the voice. "If you reach the rooftop alive, then I will admit my defeat and send you back. Of course, by that time, the two of you will be burning with a consuming hatred for each other, guaranteed. And it's another possibility that you two will die trying to reach the top."
The wooden door at the end of the room swung open abruptly. Ranma and Akane jumped. They could see that there was a steep oak staircase leading up. The voice snickered, as if the thought of the two of them struggling was amusing.
"As you know, you are now in the basement. There are seven floors in all, of which you must go through to proceed to the next. For each level that you complete, I will give you a prize. I do have a heart, you know. So here's an item before you go on to the first floor."
The voice had been fading away slowly, and by the time the last sentence was uttered, it had disappeared completely. At the same time, an object materialized in front of the wooden steps. Hesitantly, Akane and Ranma approached to take a look at it.
"A dagger?" Akane asked, picking it up to take a look. She unsheathed it. The blade was one foot long, and a finger's width wide. The metal was very well sharpened at one side; clearly very sharp. The hilt and sheath were made of smooth marble.
"You keep it," Ranma said after he'd examined it himself. "You might need it."
"...Okay," Akane said hesitantly. She sheathed the dagger and put it in her right school uniform pocket. Her pocket was very deep, and the dagger fit with only the hilt sticking out. Ranma watched her put away the dagger. Akane straightened up.
The two proceeded up the flight of stairs, Akane leading the way. At the end of the stairs, they came across another oaken door with a brass knob. She reached out to turn the knob, but Ranma grabbed her arm. He shook his head apprehensively. He looked towards the door, his usual confidence dampening. He was well prepared to take any challenge that might be behind the door, but with someone else to look after...
"Let me do it," Akane said stubbornly. "There might be something dangerous on the other side."
'Which is exactly the point,' Ranma thought to himself, bristling. He braced himself to open it himself. But before he could stop her, Akane had reached out with her other hand and turned the knob. Ranma moved over in front of her, pushing her out of the way.
There was a hollow metallic click as the latch gave way and the door swung open...
===
END OF CHAPTER
FINALLY RANMA MAKES HIS ENTRANCE, AND THE STORY CAN GO UNDER WAY... PLEASE REVIEW MY WORK AFTER EVERY CHAPTER IF POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN IMPROVE IT. IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME IF YOU'D TAKE TIME TO COMMENT ON MY WORK. YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME PERSONALLY IF YOU WANT...
AT: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com