Grrrr.. I really feel horrible about this little, and I mean little, piece. 
It feels rushed, even though I spent forever on it. Now I'm just ticked at 
myself.. but anyway I figured I should send it before I decide to delete it. 
I plan revisions.. of the extreme.. I think..

       "Dead Run" part 4 of chapter 1
Shinjuku, sub capital of Tokyo.


       Jave swept into the small apartment like a violent wind, banging the 
door open with enough force to leave a knob dent in the wall.  A small cat 
scampered in front of his feet, causing him to stumble, and sending the cat 
bounding into the arms of his roommate.
       Yasushi, his roommate, made no move to acknowledge his entrance. Never 
had and Jave doubted he ever would. His shoulders sagged a little at the 
thought. 
       Yasushi was a tall, slender man. He had small gold rimmed glassed 
framing his brown eyes, which currently, were fixated on the TV screen, that 
wasn't turned on. His head tilted to the side as if listening intently, he 
nodded and hmmed.
       "Dammit, Sushi," Jave hissed. "I told you not to bring any more of 
your 'friends' home." 
       Yasushi's eyes flicked to Jave and back to the screen. "Don't call me 
that," he grumbled. The cat sat in his lap and purred, he stroked its back, 
scratched its ears. "Who are you to say the company I keep?  Bah, no, I think 
not. You bring home all sorts of savory characters.."
       Jave glared. "I don't 'bring' them home, they follow me." He jerked a 
thumb at his chest to emphasize his point, a very American gesture.
       "Same difference, is it not?" 
       "What is it with you? When are you gonna take the stick outta your 
ass, man?" Jave came to a stop at the end of the futon Yasushi sat on, one 
hip thrust out a little and thumb hooked in his jean's belt strap.
       Yasushi put down the TV remote and carefully, deliberately look up at 
the younger man. "When are you," he paused for effect. "going to stop being 
so arrogant?"
       Jave snorted and shifted his weight. "You're just jealous, old man." 
And he grinned his grin.
       "Jealous of stupidity?" He pretended to pondered this.
       "Oh, ha ha. You are so clever."
       "Yes, I know." Yasushi's thin lips quirked vaguely upwards at the 
corners.

~~~~~~
Unknown.

       The trees stretched for miles out of the damp earth, and yet the 
couldn't have been more than 6 meters high. They had leaves the like of which 
he had never seen, nor dreamt of. He stood at the center of a small circle 
clearing, the trees bowed in without end forming a dome of brown bark and 
green. No light came from above, and he felt there was no light up there to 
come in.  The only light came from a pool of water in front of him, filling 
the enclosure with a soft glow.
       Ranma slowly circled his surroundings, feeling the 'walls' as he went. 
He found nothing he could not see. He snorted and circled the glowing 
water... He made a complete circle before coming to a stop where he started, 
or rather, walking into a large mass of unyielding flesh.  Blue eyes moved 
from the nude chest in front of him up to the furry head attached to it.  
       The bear man huffed at him, sending a gush of warm used air through 
his hair.  Bear man's massive head shook and his hand came up to Ranma's 
chest and pushed. Ranma fell. He fell fast, fell hard and there was no 
ground. No more light, trees streaked by and he saw the roots snake around to 
grab him. The roots were thin and clung to his body, burrowed into his skin,  
his muscle, to his bones. They pulled him down and hugged him tight, some 
almost caressing him before plunging deep, spilling his blood...

Tendo's bathroom

       Sight came back to him, and then he came back to the bathroom. Lastly 
he came back to himself. Ranma blinked, his reflection blink with him. He 
took a quick step back and then another and another till his back was against 
the door. His hands came up and grasp his own throat. Nothing, still a 
throat. Head was still attached, pulse strong and breathing normal. 
His brow furrowed in something that was not quite thought yet. The voice in 
his head was gibbering away about a million unimportant  things, none of 
which he cared to hold on to.  
       The mirror rippled. His eyes refocused on it, but he didn't want to 
see. A little boy looked out at him, eyes wide and smiling.  Then the image 
shivered, cuts appeared over the boy and infection followed. The skin peeled 
back and muscle unraveled like string, melted from bone and dripped wetly 
into the sink below. Pieces hit the porcelain with meaty splats. The boy in 
the mirror just smiled a smile of nothing.
       Ranma choked. His hands worked to find the door knob, but seemed to 
get lost along the way. He felt a tide of words spring to his mind only to be 
strangle and hung in his throat, until one word crawled up from the inky 
darkness.
       "Daddy...?"



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