Finally!  This fic was supposed to be an entry for the Black Rose ML's
October Challenge of Doom...but it, uh, didn't quite get done by Halloween.
*^_^*  Special thanks go out to the BRML and Gary Kleppe for prereading.

This fic is dedicated with great respect to Bram Stoker, who published
_Dracula_ in 1897, and to Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2.





The Blood is the Life

by Cindy Toler


        It was a crisp autumn afternoon in Nerima,  the kind of beautiful
day that just seemed made for a leisurely stroll in a park somewhere to
revel in the changing of the seasons.  On this particular afternoon, Ranma
Saotome happened to be on his way past the park near the Tendo Dojo,
running as though his life depended on it.
        "If I'm late, she'll kill me," he muttered, speeding up a little.
At the street crossing up ahead, a person dressed in black and yellow was
just stepping into view.
        "Ryoga," Ranma growled.  "Just what I don't need."
        The Lost Boy blinked and shook his head slightly.  "Saotome," he
said, then fell back into a defensive posture.
        "Look, Ryoga, I don't got time for this right now.  How's about I
beat you up later on today, OK?" Ranma offered casually, moving around to
the other side of the street in order to pass by.
        Wisps of red battle aura flickered around Ryoga as he took a step
toward his rival.  Suddenly the aura vanished, leaving him very pale and
gasping for breath.  He staggered forward, muttering, "Ranma, prepare
to..." and then fell to the ground in a dead faint.
        "Well, that was different," Ranma said, edging a little closer to
see that Ryoga was still breathing.  "That's a great technique you've
developed there," he said a little louder, nudging one of Ryoga's hands
with his foot.  There was still no reaction, so Ranma pushed him over onto
his back.  Now that he had a closer look, Ranma noticed that the Lost Boy
looked like hell.  He was ghastly pale, and there were dark circles under
his eyes and a bluish tinge around his mouth.
        "You're not faking, are you?" Ranma asked as he knelt down and
slapped him on the cheek.  Ranma looked around the empty street for help,
then with a resigned sigh he heaved Ryoga's limp form over his shoulder and
started walking.




        "What happened?" Dr. Tofu asked.
        "He fainted, I guess," Ranma panted.  Even for a physically fit
martial artist, Ryoga's dead weight was a challenge.
        "Here, bring him here."  Tofu led the way to the back room.  Ranma
unceremoniously dumped Ryoga onto the examining table and straightened with
a sigh of relief.
        "Guess I'll be going..." Ranma said, backing away as Tofu pulled
out his stethoscope.
        "No, stay," the Doctor requested.  "I might need to ask you some
questions."
        Ranma seated himself on a nearby stool, fidgeting anxiously as Tofu
started to unfasten Ryoga's shirt.  Akane was going to kill him, no doubt
about that...
        Ryoga woke with a shout, flailing his arms wildly.
        "WHERE THE HELL...am...I now?" Ryoga ended the question in a small,
embarassed voice, one hand clutching the open neck of his shirt and holding
it closed.  "I'm at a doctor's office?" he asked, his puzzled eyes finally
resting on Ranma.
        "Well, what else was I supposed to do with you?" Ranma grumbled.
"I mean, you passed out right in the middle of the street."
        "I did not!" Ryoga gasped, struggling to sit up.  Once he was
upright, his face paled dramatically, and he didn't offer any resistance as
the Doctor gently pushed him back down.
        "Did, too," Ranma smirked.
        "Shut up, Ranma," Ryoga said weakly.
        "There's no shame in being sick," the Doctor said mildly, giving
Ranma a pointed look.
        "Yeah, whatever," Ranma muttered.  "Can I go now?"
        "I'm coming with you," Ryoga added hastily, trying to slide off the
edge of the table.
        "No, both of you stay," Tofu said firmly.  Ranma settled back onto
the stool with a huff and Ryoga lay back looking unhappy.
        "Now," Tofu said, adopting the kindly, professional manner that
characterized his practice.  "Would you open your shirt, please?"
        Ryoga sighed and reluctantly unfastened the shirt, allowing it to
fall open.  Tofu gasped, and Ranma jumped up to gawk as well.
        "What?" Ryoga asked, raising a hand to cover the right side of his
neck where their gazes were fastened.  The area where neck and shoulder met
was sore, and ached with an icy pain when he touched it.
        "What bit you?" Ranma asked curiously, as Tofu gently pulled
Ryoga's hand away.
        "Nothing," Ryoga answered, feeling more than a little paranoid as
Tofu pushed his head to the left and cautiously prodded at the sore spot.
"What are you doing?"
        "You got bit by something," Ranma asserted.
        "Looks like an animal bite," Tofu mused.  "I doubt that you could
have lost a significant amount of blood from a wound like this, though.
That wouldn't explain the fainting incident or your anemic appearance."
        "I didn't faint!" Ryoga said hotly, turning to glare at Ranma.
"What's anemic?"
        "Pale, bloodless, dark circles under the eyes..." the doctor
answered, gently but firmly turning Ryoga's head to the left again.  "I'd
like to run a few tests anyway, just to be sure.  Why don't you go ahead
and disrobe," Tofu suggested, handing Ryoga a hospital-style gown, "and
we'll be back shortly.  Ranma, would you come with me, please?"  Ryoga
stared after them as they walked out of the room, then gazed with distaste
at the flimsy gown.


        "So, Doc, what's the deal?" Ranma asked.
        "What do you mean, Ranma?" Tofu said, distracted.  He was peering
at his bookshelves, occasionally pulling a book down and leafing through it
before replacing it.
        "What's wrong with him?  He usually doesn't take naps in the street."
        "Well, we'll do some tests.  Anemia can be caused by all sorts of
things...poor diet, iron deficiency, overactive spleen..."
        "But it isn't deadly or anything, right?"
        "It can be serious.  Let's wait till the tests have been run before
we draw any conclusions.  We should have some answers soon," Tofu answered
patiently.  "Ah!  This is it!" he exclaimed cheerfully, pulling down a
large, old-looking volume.  "Now, Ranma, before we go back in there,
there's something I need to ask you about..."



        Ryoga tugged at the sleeves of the hospital gown, irritated by the
horrible fit.  At the sound of the door opening, he jumped a little and
pulled the hem of the gown down over his knees.  Ranma stepped in and
closed the door behind him.
        "Hey, shouldn't you be lying down?" he asked, trying not to sound
too concerned.
        "I'm OK," Ryoga said flatly, crossing his arms and shivering in the
sterile chill of the room.  "I hate doctors."
        "Yeah, me too," Ranma said.  "But Tofu's a good one.  And he's
right, you are really pale."  Ryoga's hand rose protectively toward his
throat.
        "I think we're all set," Tofu said as he walked back into the room.
Ryoga snatched his hand away from his neck a little guiltily.  The doctor
quickly cleaned and bandaged the wound,  listened to Ryoga's heart and
lungs through the stethoscope, then asked him to lie down.  He started to
examine the patient's abdomen, and discovered much to Ryoga's embarassment
that he was very ticklish.  Ryoga bit down on his lip to try and stifle his
laughter as Tofu ascertained that his spleen was not enlarged.  If Ranma
said anything about this to anyone, he'd have to kill him for sure...
        The doctor insisted that Ryoga continue to recline as he began to
draw blood for tests.  Ryoga winced and glanced the other way as Tofu
tapped into a vein.
        "Ryoga, do you have a place to stay?" Tofu asked in a
conversational tone.  Ryoga nodded.
        "I have my tent with me," he began, but the Doctor held up a hand
to stop him.
        "I think it would be best if you stayed in a house tonight," Tofu
said.  "I'd like for you to stay with Ranma.  I've already spoken to Mr.
Tendo about the situation."
        "I can't!" Ryoga gasped.
        "Sure you can, P-Chan!" Ranma interrupted.  "You stay there all the
time!"
        With some effort, Ryoga choked back a caustic reply, and instead
said only, "I don't want...her...to see me like this.  I can stay at my
parents' house."
        "Oh, is it near?" Tofu asked, and Ranma nodded.  "That would make
much more sense, then."
        "He'd be all alone," Ranma said, and Ryoga shot him a furious glare.
        "My folks could be there!" he said defensively.
        "You shouldn't be alone tonight," Tofu said sternly, "wherever you
end up sleeping."
        "Yes, sir," Ryoga said glumly.
        "And I want you back here in the morning," Tofu added.  Ryoga
nodded his assent and followed Ranma out of the office with no small
relief.



        "Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Ranma asked with forced
cheerfulness as he and Ryoga walked toward the Hibiki house.  He might just
end up staying there for the night himself, to give Akane a chance to cool
down.
        "Don't you dare mock me!" Ryoga snapped.
        "Hey, take it easy!"  Ranma said, clutching Ryoga's arm to keep him
from staggering into the street.  "Geez, why do you hafta get so mad all
the time?"
        Ryoga leaned against Ranma as they walked, begrudgingly grateful
for the support.  He heaved a sigh of relief as he recognized his house.
He was so tired it swam in his vision, and he could hear the blood rushing
in his ears...
        "Whoa!" Ranma cried, as Ryoga suddenly started to sag heavily
against him.
        "Ryoga!" a female voice cried, and a middle-aged woman came running
out the front door of the Hibiki house.  "Oh, what's the matter?  Why are
you so pale?"
        "Hi, Mrs. Hibiki," Ranma said, as Ryoga's mother swept her boy's
heavy body up in her arms and carried him inside.
        "Mom, I can walk..." Ryoga mumbled.
        "Hello again, young man.  Ranma, wasn't it?" Mrs. Hibiki said
sweetly over her shoulder.  "Won't you come in?"
        Ranma closed the door behind them and gaped in astonishment as he
saw Mrs. Hibiki bounding up the stairs with her son in her arms.  It seemed
Ryoga had come by his unusual strength as naturally as his sense of
direction.  Ranma shrugged and followed them up the stairs, and helped get
an embarassed Ryoga settled into bed.  It took only a few minutes to bring
Mrs. Hibiki up to date about her son's medical situation.
        "Well, you'll just stay in bed then, young man," she said.  "Go
ahead and take your bandannas off."
        "Aw, Mom..." Ryoga mumbled.  Ranma snickered, and Ryoga glowered at
him, the blood rising to redden his face and then fading quickly.  Ryoga's
mother gave him a Look, and he reluctantly pulled the bandannas off and
dropped them in a heap on the bedside table.
        "There now," Mrs. Hibiki said softly as she perched on the bed
beside her son.  "It's so good to see you again, dear."
        "I missed you," Ryoga confessed.  His mother pulled him up into a
hug that would have crushed an ordinary person's ribs.  Ryoga pressed his
face against her shoulder, rubbing away the moisture that sprang to his
eyes.
        "Um..." Ranma said uncomfortably.  "I better go now.  I'll be here
in the morning to take you to Tofu's, Ryoga."
        "Ok," Ryoga answered, his voice muffled.  Ranma hurried out of the
house, trying to ignore the ugly litte knot of sorrow and jealousy that
tightened his throat.  He couldn't remember the last time he had hugged his
own mother as himself.
        As he stepped out onto the street, he remembered that he would have
to face Akane, and that she'd probably be angry.  With a heavy heart, he
made his way back to the Tendo Dojo.


        Mrs. Hibiki broke off the embrace and sat back to look at her boy,
fondly smoothing his rumpled hair and brushing the bangs out of his eyes.
Ryoga gave her a weary but genuine smile.
        "Go ahead and lie down, dear," his mother said gently,
straightening the covers for him as he complied.  "I'll go fix some
dinner."  She deposited a quick kiss on his forehead and left.
        Ryoga curled up under the blankets, and was asleep almost before
she had left the room.  In a few minutes, he began to dream of the night
before...


        His campfire had burned down to glowing embers which were just
beginning to die out.  A chill wind blew across the site, stirring a few
tiny sparks up into the night sky to flash briefly among the stars.  Ryoga
huddled into his sleeping bag, pulling his head in and shivering.  He
didn't want to venture out into the cold to add wood to the fire, so
instead he turned over on his stomach, curled his legs up underneath him
and rested his head on his arms.  He was just beginning to get comfortable
in his new position when he suddenly felt something cold and hard touch his
rump through the fabric of the sleeping bag.  With a startled, angry gasp,
Ryoga leaped up and wrestled his way out of the sleeping bag, peering into
the inky darkness of the surrounding trees.
        <Poor little one,> a Voice seemed to say from nowhere.  <But I
thought you would never get up.>
        "Who's there?" Ryoga shouted.  His voice seemed to be swallowed up
by the night; he could barely hear himself yelling.  He spun around, never
dropping his guard.  An icy touch trailed down his spine, but when he
turned there was no-one there to be seen.  He could hear the Voice begin to
chuckle.
        <Yes, little one.  Do struggle.  Your feeble efforts amuse me.>
        "Feeble?" Ryoga bellowed, his voice still sounding oddly muffled.
"No-one calls Ryoga Hibiki feeble!"   He saw a shadow moving and leaped
toward it, letting fly with a kick that shattered the unfortunate tree he
landed against.  The shadowy figure moved beneath the kick, grabbed his
outflung leg while he was still airborne, and threw him back into the small
clearing.
        He landed face-down near his sleeping bag, and had barely begun to
tense his muscles to rise when a cold, dense weight landed on his back,
driving him forward.  An icy hand grabbed a fistful of his thick hair and
pulled his head up and back.  His hands scrabbled vainly for purchase on
the hard-packed, leaf-strewn ground, and his back arched painfully as his
entire torso was dragged up into the air.  He felt a cold tongue tracing
his ear, and his assailant's free hand slipping down into his shirt.  The
sturdy fabric ripped away easily in one swift pull, leaving Ryoga to
shiver, bare-chested, against the chill of the night and the deeper, more
penetrating chill of sudden terror.  He made some inarticulate protest as
he felt the tongue trail its way down along his neck.  Sharp teeth pressed
against him, nibbling  gently at his neck and shoulder, and then...  And
then...

        "Ryoga, wake up already," a voice was saying.  Not the Voice, just
a normal, familiar human voice.  "It's time to go back to the Doctor's."
        "The red eyes..." Ryoga mumbled, shivering.
        "Ryoga!" the annoying voice yelled directly into his ear.  Ryoga's
eyes snapped open to reveal that the owner of the voice was Ranma.
Unfortunately, Ranma moved out of the way before Ryoga could properly thank
him.
        "Come back here so I can hit you," Ryoga grumbled.
        "Geez, you're lazy," Ranma answered.  "I've been up for hours."  He
didn't mention that he wouldn't have gotten up so early if he had been
given a choice.  He casually tossed Ryoga's clothes onto the bed as the
Lost Boy struggled to sit up.
        "Whoa," Ranma said as Ryoga finally managed to get upright and
groggily started to gather up his clothing.  "You look really bad today."
        "Thanks a lot!"
        "Heh, you're welcome," Ranma said with a grin.  "Say, where's your mom?"
        "She...went to go fix dinner."
        "Think she's lost?"
        "Probably," Ryoga answered sadly.  He hadn't even gotten to really
talk to her this time...  "She probably won't be back for a couple of
weeks, at best," he finally said.


        Ranma led the way to the Doctor's office cheerfully.  Akane hadn't
been angry last night, thanks to Dr. Tofu's phone call.  She had been
concerned for Ryoga, and had even praised Ranma for being such a good
friend.  As a reward, she prepared breakfast for him, which he had actually
managed to avoid tasting.  So on the whole he was pretty happy, although
hungry.
        Ranma stole another glance at Ryoga as the two of them made their
way slowly to Tofu's.  Ryoga was definitely paler today; the shadows under
his eyes were much more pronounced.  His cheeks looked slightly hollow, as
though he had lost several pounds.  He trudged forward, doggedly placing
one foot in front of the other, looking for all the world as if he were
going to meet his executioner... or as if he had just lost a loved one.
        Dr. Tofu didn't seem too happy, either.  He frowned as soon as he
saw them, and quickly ushered Ryoga to the examining room to lie down.
        "So, Doc, whadya find out?" Ranma asked.  Tofu adjusted his glasses
and looked at them both gravely.
        "There doesn't appear to be any cause for the anemia," he said finally.
        "What?" Ryoga asked.
        "Something has to be causing it.  He wasn't like this before,"
Ranma said, his eyes drifting to Ryoga's throat, where the edge of the
bandage was peeking out from under his shirt collar.  Ryoga unconsciously
covered the spot with his hand, then, when he realized what he was doing,
he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
        "There are none of the usual signs," the doctor said.  "The blood
samples showed nothing unusual at all - in fact, judging from the quality
of the sample, Ryoga should be in vigorous, good health."
        "What about that bite mark?" Ranma asked, pointing at Ryoga, who
quickly covered the bandage again.
        "As I said before, a wound of that size shouldn't cause a
significant blood loss.  May I examine it again, Ryoga?"
        With some reluctance, Ryoga nodded, and fidgeted uncomfortably
while Tofu removed the bandage.  The wound had begun to heal - a lot of the
ragged edges were already mending.  There were two deep punctures that
still looked raw, and although Tofu had to agree with his earlier assertion
that a wound of that size couldn't possibly be causing any great blood
loss, something about the puncture marks bothered him.  He vaguely
remembered reading something about a wound like this...
        "You look a lot less chewed-up now," Ranma commented tactfully.
        "Shut up!"
        "I'd like to take another blood sample for testing," Tofu said,
trying to hide his irritation at having his thoughts interrupted.  "And
then I'll let you go."  Ryoga sighed and pushed his shirt-sleeve up.
        "Now," Tofu continued as he began preparing the needle to draw
blood, "I want you to go home, have a good meal, and rest.  You don't have
an iron deficiency, but it won't hurt if you try to include red meat and
spinach or broccoli."
        "No pork!" Ryoga cried.
        "Beef would be fine.  Also, I don't want you doing anything
strenuous!  No training today - "
        "Yes, sir," Ryoga said unhappily.
        "...And absolutely no fighting."  At that, he gave both Ranma and
Ryoga a pointed look.
        "I better call home, and let them know you're staying with us,"
Ranma said.  Before Ryoga could voice his protest, Ranma continued, "No
telling when your family will be back."
        "You definitely do not need to be alone," Tofu said emphatically.
        "I..." Ryoga started, but then had no idea what to say.  He
couldn't bear the thought that Akane might see him as a weakling, but he
really had no other suggestion.  Ranma waited a moment for him to continue,
then shrugged and left.
        "Ok, all done now," Tofu said a few minutes later, quickly pressing
a gauze square to Ryoga's arm as he withdrew the needle.  Ryoga wondered
briefly why it had taken so long this time, but then he decided that he'd
had less blood to start with.  He sat up slowly and thanked the doctor, and
promised him that he would rest.
        "We're all set," Ranma said as he walked back into the room.
"Akane says to tell you that they're happy to have you.  I mean...the whole
family's happy to have you."
        "I'll let you know when the new test results are in," Dr. Tofu
said, then turned to face his bookshelves as Ranma and Ryoga left.  He was
certain there was something in one of those books about a wound like
Ryoga's, and pernicious anemia...


        They stopped at Ucchan's on the way to the Tendo house, and had
beef okonomiyaki because, as Ranma said, it was the doctor's orders.  Ukyo
commented that Ryoga looked terrible, and he nodded glumly in response.  He
was really starting to get tired of everyone telling him how bad he looked.



        "Oh, Ryoga," Akane gasped as they walked in the front door.  "You
look just awful!"
        "Hello... Akane," Ryoga said with a wince.
        "Well, come in and sit down," Akane said, pulling Ryoga away from a
frowning Ranma and leading him by the arm towards the dining room.  "You
really look exhausted."
        "I...uh..."  Ryoga stumbled slightly and tossed Ranma a slightly
panicked look.  The blood was starting to pound in his ears again, and he
could see black splotches crawling across his vision, keeping time with his
beating heart.  In a flash of insight, Ryoga realized that he was about to
faint again.
        "Sorry..." he gasped, and then his knees buckled.  He dimly heard
Akane's voice calling his name, and then there was nothing but the darkness
and the laboring of his heart.



        "You OK?" Ranma's voice asked.  Ryoga took a deep breath, then
squinted up at his rival.
        "Ngh," he said intelligently.  He was lying on a futon in the room
Ranma shared with his father, looking up at Ranma and a worried Akane.  His
body felt heavy and numb.  He slowly lifted one leaden arm and started to
shove the covers off, trying to push himself up with the other arm.
        "Don't get up just yet," Akane said, laying a delicate hand on his
shoulder.  "You still look really pale."
        "Yeah, why don't you just stay put till dinner time?" Ranma added.
        "I...I'm sorry," Ryoga said, closing his eyes.  Akane's concerned
image burned in his mind's eye.
        "Don't be," Akane said.  Ryoga looked up at her again apologetically.
        "I don't mean to be a bother..."
        "Huh, that's a first," Ranma interrupted.
        "Ranma, don't pick on him!" Akane snapped.  "You're no bother,
Ryoga," she continued, her tone still slightly more forceful than was
necessary.  Ranma rolled his eyes.
        "Oh, you're awake," Kasumi said as she walked into the room with an
armful of clean laundry.  "Are you feeling better now, Ryoga?"
        "I'm Ok," Ryoga answered.  Kasumi smiled gently at him, then
crossed the room to start putting the carefully folded clothes away.
        "The bathroom's available, if you wanted a bath tonight," she
suggested.
        "Thank you, Kasumi," Ryoga answered, staggering to his feet.
        "I'll come, too!" Ranma said quickly, jumping up.  Ryoga turned to
give him a quiet look that could explode into an angry snarl in a
heartbeat.
        "I don't need any help," Ryoga said in a low voice.
        "Hey, I ain't doin' nothing weird!" Ranma cried,  holding up his
hands as if to ward off any such accusation.  "We should try to conserve
the hot water, is all."
        Ryoga nodded, accepting the reasoning, and followed Ranma to the
bathroom.  Ranma stifled a sigh of relief.  That idiot would probably bite
his own tongue off before he'd admit he needed help, but what if he passed
out while he was in the tub?  The two of them stripped in silence and
started scrubbing up.
        "Hey, aren't you going to take the bandage off?" Ranma asked.
        "No," Ryoga said flatly.
        "It'll get all wet."
        "No."  Ryoga's brows started to draw together.
        "Ok, whatever," Ranma said.  He rinsed off and climbed into the
tub, closing his eyes and sighing as the hot water soothed him.  The water
level  raised slightly as Ryoga climbed in, and Ranma heard an echoing
sigh.
        "Nothing like a good hot bath, eh, P-Chan?"
        "Stop calling me P-Chan," Ryoga answered wearily, closing his eyes
and leaning back against the edge of the tub.  Ranma stole a glance at him
and noticed that the bandage had soaked through and was starting to come
off...


        Akane was walking past the bathroom when she heard Ryoga's voice.
        "Stop looking at it!"
        "I can't help it," Ranma answered.  "It's just...kinda
cool-looking.  Can I touch it?"
        "No!"
        Akane paused, turned several shades of red, and then continued on
her way to the kitchen.  "I don't want to know," she assured herself.