By request, I will repost this to the real ffml.
I first posted this on April 1, under the subject of
"Subject: [Fanfic] (Dark) "Black" By Joseph Palmer."
And the original April first header was:
{
Since it's a new fanfic quarter today, I thought I'd share what
I'm working on. It's about 2/3 done.
And you all said I'd never do a "dark" fanfic.
[A Ranma 1/2 Dark Fanfict]
Black
By Joseph Palmer
}
__________________________________________________________________________
[A Ranma 1/2 Fanfict]
Black
By Joseph Palmer
The four stood frozen before the open door. Akane was flushed
and flustered, and too surprised to say anything. Ranma looked
sheepishly at Akane, then back into his room. Huge drops of
sweat soaked through the fur of the panda, and he began to pant
nervously. Nadoka still smiled sweetly. On the floor of Ranma's
room were two futons.
"O- Ofukoro..." Ranma began. [Mother...]
"Ch- choto mate..." Akane added. [Wait a moment...]
The hall clock clicked off the seconds, it seemed impossibly
loud to Ranma.
"I said, off to bed you two!" Nadoka pushed Ranma and the
panda into his room. "Akane and I have some girl-talk to do."
She said as she slid the door closed. She put her arm around
Akane and led her to the other bedroom.
Ranma slid open his door and watched as the door to his
parents room slid closed. The clock ticked off ten full seconds
of silence, then his mother's laughter pierced the door.
Ranma turned to his father-panda. "I suppose you think that
was funny." The panda shrugged and began to laugh. Ranma bopped
him half heartedly on the head.
Akane's laugh soon joined his mother's. It was a little
nervous at first, but then soon settled into the laugh that
always set his heart racing.
- - -
He lay awake late into the night, the whispers and giggles
from the other room just audible over his father's snoring. Her
voice found him and he squeezed his pillow, hugging and rocking
it as if it were her. He thought of the night they had fallen
asleep together, her warmth against his chest, the scent of her
freshly washed hair on his pillow. Hearing her now from his bed
filled him with longing.
In the morning they stole a hurried but passionate kiss while
Ranma's mother was in the kitchen.
"Mmm... What was that for?" Akane asked.
"No reason." Ranma lied.
"What are you two up to?" Ranma's mother came in suddenly.
"Nothing, really." Akane answered guiltily.
"Yeah, nothing." Ranma examined a pair of chopsticks as if he
had never seen chopsticks before.
"Good, then Akane, you can help me with breakfast, and Ranma,
you can get this room ready."
"Aw mom. but that's girl's work."
"There's cold water in the bathroom if you need it dear."
Nadoka took a giggling Akane by the arm to the kitchen.
"Kawaii ku n....."
"Ranma!" Genma leaned casually against the doorway.
"What's up pop? wana do some training?"
"That's exactly what I want to do." He sat cross legged on the
floor, pushed up his glasses, the crossed his arms. "Soutome
special technique, number two!"
Ranma knelt before him. "Ready"
"When faced with this sort of situation..." Genma tilted his
head, his glasses filling with light. "Do what your mother
says."
--
Ranma took his usual place atop the fence, Akane carried a bag
of his mother's fresh pickled vegetables.
"What did you two talk about last night?"
"It was just girl talk."
"I suppose I have to jump into the creek before you tell me."
"Hee hee. Good idea." They walked quietly together for a time.
"Your mother is really special you know."
"Hmmm?" Ranma jumped to the sidewalk beside her.
"Last night... Sometimes it was just like talking to one of my
friends, like we were the same age." She giggled. "She told me
a lot of stories about when she was dating your father. Things
weren't really all that different back then." She walked along
quietly smiling. "Other times... it was just like having another
sister." She took Ranma's hand. "And sometimes... sometimes it
was like talking to my mother."
They took the JR out to Nerima, and threaded through the maze
of temporary hallways the construction crew had put up through
the new station.
"Ahh, shimata!* we came out the wrong way!" Ranma looked up
and down the busy street. (* Shimata can be accurately
translated as "Doh!")
"It's no wonder, that place is such a mess inside. Let's go
around this way." She lead him past the tiny shops that filled
the front of the station. They passed under the JR tracks, and
the signal bell began to ring as they crossed the tracks for the
local route. The crossing arm dropped behind them, and in
moments the train appeared. Something caught Ranma's attention
and he stopped to watch the train.
"What is it?" Concern showed in Akane's voice. She'd seen that
look before, it usually meant trouble.
"I don't know, something about the sound the train was
making..."
The crossing bell stopped ringing, and the warning lights went
out.
"That's weird, the signal stopped." Akane pointed at the
crossing. The train began to slow, then coasted to a stop in the
crossing.
"That's not good." Ranma watched as the passengers began to
look around and question each other in the train.
Akane squeezed Ranma's arm "Do you think they... hit someone?"
"No, I don't think so, Listen." Ranma looked up and down the
street.
"I don't hear anything."
"Right, no fans, no air conditioners, nothing. I think the
power went out."
"Whew. That explains the train, too." Her grip on his arm
became less urgent, more friendly. She tugged him towards home.
"Good thing we got off that train before it got stuck
somewhere."
"Aw, they'll get power back in no time." At that moment the
lights flicked on in the hardware shop on their right. "See,
what had I tell you." Then they dimmed and went back out.
"Well, they tried." Akane shrugged. Shop keepers mixed into
the street with the shoppers to discuss the situation. Some of
the shops were already rolling their doors partly down, but the
yakitoriya was doing a brisk business, the owner smiled smugly
as he worked out the prices on a tiny brass abacus. He'd never
seen the need for a cash register, and his grill was gas. They
walked together through the clumps of people, catching snatches
of news and speculation. Up and down the street streetlights
were decorated with springtime decorations of blue, red and
silver foil fireworks, adding to the carnival feel.
"Lucky! Hey, Ranma, Akane!" Nabiki waved at them from a shop.
"Ranma could you carry this?" She lifted a large brown tub in
her arms. He took it from her.
"Oooh, it's cold! What is this?"
"Ice cream!" Nabiki was beaming.
"Nabiki, what are you so excited about? It's only ice cream."
"Two words Akane, Chocolate and wholesale!"
"Wholesale? how did you swing that?"
"Haven't you heard, the power is out."
"We know."
"No, It's really out. All the way from here to Tokyo Station."
She waved her hand towards downtown, then patted the tub. "This
one was half empty and anyway it didn't fit in the shops deep
freeze, so it was either sell it or loose it. " She turned back
to the shopkeeper, "Thank You, Bye Bye!" They walked off with
Ranma in the middle.
"Sis, there's a lot if ice cream here..." Akane thumped the
top of the tub.
"I was a little worried about that, but not anymore now that
Ranma's here."
"Hey!"
"Yeah, you're right." Akane agreed with her sister.
"Jeez."
"Narita airport is out now." A shop keeper announced holding a
tiny radio to his ear.
"Oh oh, it's growing." Nabiki lost some enthusiasm. They
walked together towards the doujo. The narrow streets were full
of neighbors talking over fences, and with children playing.
Kasumi met them at the front door.
"It's awful, it's too dark inside to do any cleaning!"
"I guess you get the day off, sis." Akane slipped out of her
street shoes.
"Is it too dark to find any bowls and spoons?" Nabiki patted
the tub.
"What is it?"
"Chocolate Ice Cream!" Nabiki's spirits had returned.
"For chocolate? I think I'll find something." Kasumi swept off
to the kitchen.
They found Soun in the living room, listening to a little
portable radio.
"They have reports from all over, Yokohama is out now, it goes
from there all the way around the bay to Makuhari. It's still
growing, and they still don't know what started it." They looked
at Ranma and Akane.
"You two didn't, you know..." Kasumi entered with bowls and
spoons.
"NO!" Akane tried to put an end to the speculation.
Nabiki giggled. "You must admit, a little damage in the right
place could have started this."
Ranma shook his head, "No way!"
"Well, they did start the reconstruction of the local JR
station a few years ahead of schedule due to 'damage'." Nabiki
pointed out.
"That wasn't my fault! Akane protested.
"Shh-Shh! Listen!" Soun turned up the radio.
... outage began in the Ueno district and spread out from
there to Tokyo...
"See, we weren't anywhere near there..." Ranma began.
"SHHHH!" Soun, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane shushed him as one.
... from Tokyo electric likened it to a piece of cloth, he
said "Once it begins to rip there is no way to stop it."
The exact cause of the outage is still not known, and
officials can give no estimates as to when power will begin
to be restored.
Kasumi dished out the softening ice cream while the radio
reported closings.
"Good thing it's Saturday, if this were a working day it would
be a real mess." Soun noted.
"Oh daddy, it's not like you need power to give lessons."
Nabiki observed.
"No, I mean all the people who ride into Tokyo to work, If
they were stuck
in town, that would be a real mess.
"What if thy can't fix it?" Kasumi asked.
"Huh? of course they can fix it." Ranma replied confidently
"What if it is like old cloth, and when they try to pick it
up, it just rips again? You've seen all the messy wires and those yucky big
can things on the poles, they all look so old and messy, what if
they break?" The others looked at Kasumi. There was no denying
that the power poles in town looked like those cartoons where
they plug 30 things into one extension cord. "What if they have
to start all over and put up new wires every where? It could
take days!"
"Try years." Nabiki looked out of the yard to the power poles
across the street.
"Maa, years? really?"
"That's how long it took the first time."
"You mean this happened before?"
"No, when they first put them in."
Akane finished her ice cream, and put down her bowl. "Don't
worry, Kasumi, they'll just bring it back a little bit at a
time, that's all, when they find a bad area they'll leave it off
until they can fix it."
Kasumi looked unconvinced, but she nodded to Akane. "I see,
It's more like a quilt than a broad piece of cloth."
"Yup"
They listened to the radio a while longer, the outage had
stopped growing for now, and outside of the Tokyo area the rest
of the country was unaffected. They sat together and talked,
soon forgetting the power and the mess that was the rest of
Tokyo. Kasumi left to make tea just as the front door slid open.
"Pardon me!" An old man called into the house.
"Coming!" Kasumi ran for the door.
"Ah, Kasumi-chan, can I meet with your father?"
Kasumi covered her mouth and giggled. "Tanaka-san, I haven't
been called that in years!"
The old man slipped out of his shoes and into guest slippers.
"What's that? but you're just... a... little..." he pushed up
his glasses and looked at her. Kasumi, when did you grow up?"
"Hee hee. Please come with me, daddy is just through here."
"But you were just this big!" Tanaka held out his hand at his
waist as he followed her into the living room.
"Ah, Tanaka-san, what a pleasant surprise!" Soun stood and
bowed to his guest. "Please, take a seat, Kasumi is just making
tea."
"Thank you Tendou-san, tea sounds wonderful. I'm afraid we
have an all electric kitchen at home.
"You remember my daughters Nabiki and Akane, and this is her
fiance Ranma."
"Nice seeing you again, Nice to meet you, Ranma."
"I'm pleased to meet you," Ranma replied, his mother's
influence showing.
"Tendo San," Tanaka began. "You know that I have been part of
the neighborhood fire watch since..." The old man scratched his
chin, "Since I can't remember. It was before you were born, I
think. It's been a honorary position for years now, one week out
of the year we get together for the traditional patrol and
calling to put the fires out for the night."
"A very welcome tradition." Soun said. Each year the patrol
had come past shouting their admonishments, it was a powerful
tie to his childhood.
"Well, tonight it's not just honorary. With the power out we
will need to warn the whole town, people don't use candles and
fires as much as they used to, and they get careless." Soun
nodded in agreement. Kasumi returned from the kitchen with a
thermos for tea. She poured some for the old man, he took it and
sipped quietly. "Thank you Kasumi, the tea is delicious", he
bowed formally to her, she returned the bow, and poured tea for
her father. "Now where was I... Oh yes the patrols. Tendou-san,
I'm not as young as I once was, and the little parade we do each
year is about as much as these old legs can handle. My sons and
son in laws have all moved away, so I'd like to name you as my
successor on the patrol, to one day take my place when I can no
longer do my duty, and to substitute for me in the mean time,
like tonight."
Soun bowed deeply. "I am honored, old friend." He sat up,
tears pouring from his eyes.
Nabiki shook her head at her father. "Daddy, you don't need
to drown the fires out, just warn people."
Tanaka smiled and got up to leave. "Thank you Tendou-san, I'll
walk with you a while to introduce you and to show you the
ropes. Oh yes, there was another thing, the road is blocked by
the local train down by the station, we're getting some of the
merchants together to move the cars out of the way. Could you
and your son in law come down to help?"
"I'm not..." Ranma began, Akane shot him a glance. He
panicked, looking around. He found the answer before him. "I'm
not through with my tea." He said, then gulped it down. "Okay,
I'm ready to go now."
Nabiki smiled. "Nice recovery, Ranma."
"Daddy, I'll come too." Akane Volunteered.
"Okay, it's settled then. Lets go move a train."
Soun and the others left with Tanaka. Akane and Ranma walked
together behind them.
"Are you mad at me again?" he asked.
"A little."
"What for?"
"You were going to tell Tanaka-san that you weren't daddy's
son in law."
"But I'm not."
"I know you're not, and I know we're not, but I still don't
like hearing about it."
Ranma walked on in silence. They hadn't spoken about the
disastrous wedding attempt. Shouted, yes. Spoken, no. In time
they had gotten past it, and had begun for the first time to
quietly court each other. He wrote himself a mental note to not
bring up the subject accidentaly.
Akane was watching him. "Sorry," she said quietly.
"It's okay."
"I talked to your mom about it last night."
"Mmm?"
"I told her things were working out better without all the
pressure."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"She wasn't very happy about that, she wanted to set another
date."
"When?"
Akane grabbed and snuggled his arm. "I've been waiting so long
to hear that question!"
Ranma stopped in mid stride. "Huh?"
Akane put her finger to his lips. "Shhh. I was just joking."
Ranma's panic subsided. There was something new here, an
unspoken agreement to ignore the inevitable, at least for a
while, and enjoy what they have.
Their shadows were lanky giants as they reached the station.
It was already getting hard to see, and it was very strange to
not see the shop lights.
The engineer had finally gotten permission to split up the
train to move it, and he was working the couplings as the man
from the bike shop held a flashlight. Someone had brought a
stout rope and they had decided to try to pull the cars, tug of
war style. Ranma grabbed in the middle with a number of other
younger men, while the women and older men stood around pointing
and supervising. The engineer paced off enough distance so that
the cars would clear the road, then called "PULL!" The rope
pulled taught, but the car refused to move. The engineer pulled
off his cap and scratched his head. The elders taunted and
encouraged the rope men, Akane shouting to her father and Ranma
to work harder.
"WAIT!" he shouted and ran for the car. He climbed into the
cab and worked a handle.
"OKAY, TRY AGAIN!"
All were silent as once more the rope came taught, but this
time the car rolled easily forwards, dumping the rope men to the
railbed.
"SORRY!" The conductor called from the cab. The women and
elders laughed and clapped as the younger men scrambled to get
back up and out of the way. The engineer let the car coast
smoothly to a stop as the elders clapped and smiled. It had
taken on a party atmosphere with the shouting and clapping, and
a couple of the younger men struck up a traditional work song,
soon joined by the others.
The rope was untied from the front, and the rope team carried
it like a dragon float over their heads back to the second car.
They were stopped by a delegation of older women who insisted
that they would move the next car, and that the young men had
better remain out of the way. A friendly argument ensued, but in
the end the women had their way and took positions behind and
along side the car. The engineer climbed into the open end of
the second car and released the breaks. Akane joined the other
women at the back of the car, and found herself a good position.
The engineer called out again, and slowly the car began to move.
It was clear to Ranma that Akane was doing most of the work, but
the older women were clearly enjoying their little victory. He
joined in the shouts and calls from the side as the car cleared
the intersection and the engineer brought it to a stop. They all
lined the sides of the street and clapped as the first car
passed over the tracks.
Akane found Ranma. "That was really fun, but it was harder
than I thought it would be." She said, then stopped for breath.
"You were doing most of the pushing, you know."
"Really?" She beamed.
"What would you have done if you couldn't have moved it?"
"I wasn't worried, help was only a splash away."
"Hmph." Ranma laughed. They found Soun with a group of old
men.
"Akane, Ranma, please tell Kasumi I won't be back till late
tonight, I'm going to meet with the patrol, then we'll be making
our rounds. Ranma, what with the trains and since I'll be out
late I was wondering if you will be staying tonight?"
"Sure, if it's Okay..."
"Of course it's Okay... son in law."
Ranma stiffened, but kept his mouth shut.
"See you later." Soun waved and ran to catch up with the
patrol.
"Maybe you should have a boys-talk with my father."
"Yeah, maybe I should."
They walked back to the doujo together in the deep twilight,
the first stars begining to appear.
End of Part 1.
________________________________________________________________________
Joseph Palmer "Never join a titanic battle unless
CEO, VideoS2 you get to be the iceberg." --- J.
Video Storage Systems Personal Web page:
http://www.VideoS2.com http://www.best.com/~jpalmer