Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi
===
FIRST FLOOR: THE RING OF TRUTH
The door swung open swung open, and the two teens took in the scene before them. They were in a room about the size of the Tendo dojo, decorated in the tacky manner of the 50's. Thick red wallpaper lined all sides of the walls, and the floor was carpeted with a thick red mat of the same color.
"Where are we?" Akane Tendou asked in wonder as they stepped in the room. They surveyed the room in dumbfounded silence. The only furnishings were two podiums in the very center, facing each other. A large projector screen was splayed against the wall on one side, in view with the podiums.
Ranma Saotome stood in after his fiancé and took a look at the room with a feeling of uneasiness. The door behind them slammed shut, and the two whirled around. The door had disappeared into the wall. They were surprised to see a piece of paper tacked onto the wall, as large as a small novel.
"Look, it's a note," Akane said. She tore it off the wall and took it in her fingers to read it out loud.
"WELCOME TO FIRST FLOOR. I AM THE RING OF TRUTH. TODAY, THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE LEARNING TO CONFRONT YOUR THOUGHTS TOWARDS EACH OTHER."
There was nothing else. She flipped the paper over to make sure she didn't miss anything. With great apprehension, she looked up to stare into Ranma's face. His expression mirrored her own.
"WELCOME!" A booming voice suddenly came, seemingly out of nowhere. Akane and Ranma whipped around facing the direction of the podiums, arms raised in fighting stances.
"YOU WILL BE COMING INTO TERMS WITH WHAT YOU THINK OF THE OTHER," the voice said. It was patronizing and gracious, that of a gameshow host. "NOW, IF YOU'D PLEASE APPROACH THE PODIUMS..."
Akane clenched her fist.
"Ranma," she said quietly. "Let's go."
Without another word, the two approached the fancy podiums. The platform rose a foot above the carpeted floor. It was made of pure platinum. As soon as they had taken their places on the stands, Akane on the left and Ranma on the right, the whole room darkened.
Beams shot out from the ceiling and landed on each of the two. Akane started to sweat. She was starting to have a very bad feeling about this whole thing. Directly across her, she saw Ranma looking at her in barely concealed concern.
"ALL RIGHT," the Ring of Truth said from the ceiling, his voice heavily laden with cream and honey. "EACH OF YOU HAS YOUR MICROPHONES... THIS IS HOW THE GAME WORKS. AN IMAGE WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THIS STATE-OF-THE- ARK SYSTEM SCREEN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GIVE YOUR REACTION TO WHAT'S DISPLAYED."
'It sounds easy enough,' Akane thought nervously, bringing her hands up to rest it on the podium. She gripped the shiny metal microphone in her hands. From the other side of the podium, Ranma's hands were on the podium as well, knuckles white.
As soon as the Ring of Truth finished his last sentence, the theater screen sputtered to life. The beams flickered out, so that it was the only source of illumination in the room. Ranma and Akane looked on in confusion as it showed the exterior of a large stone building. The scene zoomed in, to look inside.
They both started to sweat as they realized that they now viewed their wedding. The couple stood in front of the minister, gazing into each other's eyes. Ranma was in a western suit, his ponytail neatly hanging down his back. The dark blue of the suit emphasized his striking sapphire eyes.
He was so breathtakingly handsome... Akane felt her heart skipping beats.
And Akane was in her wedding attire, a snow-white long-sleeved gown that wrapped below the shoulders and fell to her feet. Her shiny dark hair had been brought up away from her face, held by the wedding veil.
She was so stunningly beautiful... Ranma's heart pounded harder.
And then it happened. The images on the screen became muted, and the voice spoke up again, once so gracious, was now mocking.
"THE GOLDEN COUPLE IS GETTING MARRIED," it said in an amused tone. "BUT THE GROOM IS NOT EVEN A REAL MAN. HE'S A HALF-WOMAN."
A deafening silence.
'Oh, god,' Akane thought faintly. Her heart gave a sickening lurch. She wanted desperately to look at Ranma, but the beams were out, and the theatrical screen had become to dim for her to see his face. She turned to jump out of the podium to run to him, but realized that there was a thick platinum barrier blocking her way. She could not get out.
From his own podium, Ranma was clenching the microphone, shaking in rage. His face burned with shame. He was glad that the lights were off. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to look Akane in the eye, not after his manhood had been questioned so insultingly.
Akane felt her own anger brewing. She leaned forward into the built in microphone before her.
"Th-That's not fair!" she shouted at the ceiling. "What does this have to do about anything?! What's the use of this stupid exercise?!"
"IS SHE DEFENDING HER FIANCE?" the voice asked genially, back to his game-show host tone. "DOES THE FACT THAT YOUR FIANCE TURNS INTO A GIRL MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"
Ranma heard the challenge and felt his face burn again. He waited for Akane's answer... but she was hesitating. She was wavering. Something in Ranma broke down and crashed into his insides.
"O-Of course it doesn't!" Akane shouted finally. "His curse isn't his fault!"
But the hesitation had already been there, and everyone in the room had heard it.
"SUCH AFFABLE WORDS," the voice said. Akane withered. "AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?"
The voice quieted down again, and the screen flickered back to its usual brightness. On the screen came a familiar scene that had taken place some months before. Akane immediately recognized the school field, and a scene played before their eyes...
===
HELOW AGAIN. I PUT THE SCENE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. PLEASE TELL ME IF EVERYTHING IS DRAGGING A BIT OR IF IT'S MOVING TOO FAST OR WHATEVER! PLEASE COMMENT!
OR EMAIL: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com
===
FIRST FLOOR: THE RING OF TRUTH
The door swung open swung open, and the two teens took in the scene before them. They were in a room about the size of the Tendo dojo, decorated in the tacky manner of the 50's. Thick red wallpaper lined all sides of the walls, and the floor was carpeted with a thick red mat of the same color.
"Where are we?" Akane Tendou asked in wonder as they stepped in the room. They surveyed the room in dumbfounded silence. The only furnishings were two podiums in the very center, facing each other. A large projector screen was splayed against the wall on one side, in view with the podiums.
Ranma Saotome stood in after his fiancé and took a look at the room with a feeling of uneasiness. The door behind them slammed shut, and the two whirled around. The door had disappeared into the wall. They were surprised to see a piece of paper tacked onto the wall, as large as a small novel.
"Look, it's a note," Akane said. She tore it off the wall and took it in her fingers to read it out loud.
"WELCOME TO FIRST FLOOR. I AM THE RING OF TRUTH. TODAY, THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE LEARNING TO CONFRONT YOUR THOUGHTS TOWARDS EACH OTHER."
There was nothing else. She flipped the paper over to make sure she didn't miss anything. With great apprehension, she looked up to stare into Ranma's face. His expression mirrored her own.
"WELCOME!" A booming voice suddenly came, seemingly out of nowhere. Akane and Ranma whipped around facing the direction of the podiums, arms raised in fighting stances.
"YOU WILL BE COMING INTO TERMS WITH WHAT YOU THINK OF THE OTHER," the voice said. It was patronizing and gracious, that of a gameshow host. "NOW, IF YOU'D PLEASE APPROACH THE PODIUMS..."
Akane clenched her fist.
"Ranma," she said quietly. "Let's go."
Without another word, the two approached the fancy podiums. The platform rose a foot above the carpeted floor. It was made of pure platinum. As soon as they had taken their places on the stands, Akane on the left and Ranma on the right, the whole room darkened.
Beams shot out from the ceiling and landed on each of the two. Akane started to sweat. She was starting to have a very bad feeling about this whole thing. Directly across her, she saw Ranma looking at her in barely concealed concern.
"ALL RIGHT," the Ring of Truth said from the ceiling, his voice heavily laden with cream and honey. "EACH OF YOU HAS YOUR MICROPHONES... THIS IS HOW THE GAME WORKS. AN IMAGE WILL BE DISPLAYED ON THIS STATE-OF-THE- ARK SYSTEM SCREEN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GIVE YOUR REACTION TO WHAT'S DISPLAYED."
'It sounds easy enough,' Akane thought nervously, bringing her hands up to rest it on the podium. She gripped the shiny metal microphone in her hands. From the other side of the podium, Ranma's hands were on the podium as well, knuckles white.
As soon as the Ring of Truth finished his last sentence, the theater screen sputtered to life. The beams flickered out, so that it was the only source of illumination in the room. Ranma and Akane looked on in confusion as it showed the exterior of a large stone building. The scene zoomed in, to look inside.
They both started to sweat as they realized that they now viewed their wedding. The couple stood in front of the minister, gazing into each other's eyes. Ranma was in a western suit, his ponytail neatly hanging down his back. The dark blue of the suit emphasized his striking sapphire eyes.
He was so breathtakingly handsome... Akane felt her heart skipping beats.
And Akane was in her wedding attire, a snow-white long-sleeved gown that wrapped below the shoulders and fell to her feet. Her shiny dark hair had been brought up away from her face, held by the wedding veil.
She was so stunningly beautiful... Ranma's heart pounded harder.
And then it happened. The images on the screen became muted, and the voice spoke up again, once so gracious, was now mocking.
"THE GOLDEN COUPLE IS GETTING MARRIED," it said in an amused tone. "BUT THE GROOM IS NOT EVEN A REAL MAN. HE'S A HALF-WOMAN."
A deafening silence.
'Oh, god,' Akane thought faintly. Her heart gave a sickening lurch. She wanted desperately to look at Ranma, but the beams were out, and the theatrical screen had become to dim for her to see his face. She turned to jump out of the podium to run to him, but realized that there was a thick platinum barrier blocking her way. She could not get out.
From his own podium, Ranma was clenching the microphone, shaking in rage. His face burned with shame. He was glad that the lights were off. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to look Akane in the eye, not after his manhood had been questioned so insultingly.
Akane felt her own anger brewing. She leaned forward into the built in microphone before her.
"Th-That's not fair!" she shouted at the ceiling. "What does this have to do about anything?! What's the use of this stupid exercise?!"
"IS SHE DEFENDING HER FIANCE?" the voice asked genially, back to his game-show host tone. "DOES THE FACT THAT YOUR FIANCE TURNS INTO A GIRL MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?"
Ranma heard the challenge and felt his face burn again. He waited for Akane's answer... but she was hesitating. She was wavering. Something in Ranma broke down and crashed into his insides.
"O-Of course it doesn't!" Akane shouted finally. "His curse isn't his fault!"
But the hesitation had already been there, and everyone in the room had heard it.
"SUCH AFFABLE WORDS," the voice said. Akane withered. "AND HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS?"
The voice quieted down again, and the screen flickered back to its usual brightness. On the screen came a familiar scene that had taken place some months before. Akane immediately recognized the school field, and a scene played before their eyes...
===
HELOW AGAIN. I PUT THE SCENE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. PLEASE TELL ME IF EVERYTHING IS DRAGGING A BIT OR IF IT'S MOVING TOO FAST OR WHATEVER! PLEASE COMMENT!
OR EMAIL: tsinoyeyesyahoo.com