This is the first time I've posted to the list. Here's a short fic that
I wrote a little while ago, and (I think) is the best thing I've written so
far. C & C please!
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Ronin. All characters appearing herein are property
of Takahashi Rumiko and some other guys. If you feel like taking legal
action against me, don't. I haven't got anything you'd want anyway.
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Homecoming
It was a lonely wind that gently caressed Ryoga Hibiki's face, the
soft touch of an ethereal lover that seemed strange and alien to him. In
the east the sun was slowly rising, struggling, pouring like molten gold
across the horizon and turning the pond into to a mirror of lava. Cavorting,
playing, dark shapes swam in the effervescent waters, their joys and sorrows
alike expressed in endless movement. Stillness brings pain, he thought. In
the moment we cease to move, a cold pale shadow of all our past memories
creeps up and makes itself one with us.
Crosslegged on a rock near the pond, Ryoga watched the koi as they
arrowed gracefully in a stately procession that quickly shifted to an
endless, darting game of tag. Lucky fish. Your world is so simple and
predictable, or so you believe. It can all change so very quickly, though...
A lone koi was sculling slowly along the bottom of the pond. It
swam with difficulty, and slowly due to the bulge in its midsection. A
mother. She will give birth, keep her offspring close for a brief time, and
then abandon them to the cruel and tender mercies of the world. Such is
life, such is what kills the weak and gives the strong their strength.
Strength survives..... but at what cost?
The grain of the rock pushed at Ryoga's hands, coarse and gritty,
solid and reliable. Yes, solid. Be like the rock, Ryoga. He soaked in the
chill of cold rock, letting the feel and smell of it permeate his awareness.
A stone has no need for mothers. A stone can feel no pain.
A soft padding came from the direction of the house. There was a
quiet rustle and a presence beside him. Nabiki, hair still askew from sleep,
folded herself to the ground and smoothed the long T-shirt she slept in.
Thankfully she did not speak, and both watched the sun glimmer its way
higher, dashing the twilight to pieces in an instant and beckoning in the
day with gentle fingers. Slowly the sky grew lighter, but the air remained
silent. Time enough for the sounds of life when the day had truly begun;
now was the in-between time.
"What was your mother like?" Ryoga asked quietly, without taking
his gaze from the steadily growing shine of the sun. He would have to
squint soon, but not yet, not yet. The last shreds of sleep in Nabiki's
eyes were replaced by the slightly absent dreaming of memory, and the two
were so alike as to be indistinguishable. She drew her knees up to her
chest, hugging them close.
"She was..." Nabiki trailed off, and began again. Like Ryoga, she
spoke quietly, not wishing to disturb the morning silence with normal tones.
"I don't quite know. There aren't the right words. She was....a mother, in
every sense of the word. No more and no less." For the longest time,
Nabiki kept the faraway look, and finally said "Perhaps that's as it should
be."
Ryoga lowered his head in silent agreement. Sitting cross-legged
and motionless on the rock, he had the bearing and posture of an enlightened
Buddha, but none of his peace. Drifting on the sad pool of himself, Ryoga
cast his gaze out over the pond once more. The water had shifted from
orange and gold to a paler yellow, with ripples of blue reflecting from tiny
wavelets, flickering constantly in the random symmetry of life.
Slowly reaching into his pocket, Ryoga brought out the letter. The
stiff paper was rough and crunckled softly as he unfolded it, fingers
brushing over the haphazard characters strewn across the page. It was torn
at one corner, and the edges were worn from many readings. After the first
few times he knew the words by heart, but still Ryoga would gaze at the page
in the vain hope that rapt attention to details would calm the discord
inside him. Wordlessly, he handed it to Nabiki, and folded his hands,
staring down at them.
After a few seconds to accustom herself to the wild scrawl the
letter was written in, Nabiki quickly scanned the letter twice. It read:
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To my son Hibiki Ryouga, c/o the Tendo Dojo
My son,
It has taken me a long time to find you. You move constantly, and
yet you always seem to return to Nerima, so I leave this letter in the care
of those who seem to care for you almost as much as I. I am at home.
Through the grace of the gods, your father has also returned (although a
little the worse for wear). Seeing the result of merely stepping out into
the street, we have decided to remain here.
For the first few days I was content, and happy that I was home once
more. But there is still a void in my heart, and I find this void comes
from the loss of my only son. Come home, Ryoga. Please, come home.
Mimeko Hibiki
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For the first time since she had joined him on the rock, Ryoga
looked at Nabiki, and the sad torments of indecision lurking in his eyes
tore at her. Such pain was familiar to her, had shaped her, forged her into
the keen blade of business acumen that was Nabiki Tendo. However, this made
the pain no easier to bear. Ryoga was more like her than he realized.
"The last time my mother and I spoke or saw each other was three
years ago." Ryoga dropped his eyes again to his hands. The martial arts
had made his hands tough, fingers sturdy and thick, unsuited to emotion.
"Our goodbyes were.....less than friendly. My parents have the same...
problem with direction that I do. I haven't seen either of them since."
He drew more of the solidness from the rock beneath him. "Perhaps that's as
it should be."
"It hurts, doesn't it Ryoga?" Nabiki whispered almost absently as
she plucked a blade of grass, winding it around her finger. Sliding it off,
she held the resulting tiny spiral of grass up, watching it bounce and sway
as it hung from her fingertips. Ryoga remained motionless.
"It's never stopped hurting."
Discarding the small sprig of grass, Nabiki gripped Ryoga's slumping
shoulders tightly. From mere inches away, she drove each word quietly and
firmly into Ryoga's eyes with her own steady gaze.
"Good. It's the pain that lets you know you're still alive. Now
it's your turn, and your decision to make. But you must make it, Ryoga.
Otherwise you'll wind up dead inside."
Indecision warred across the scarred battlefield of Ryoga as it had
done countless times before, but for once, the conflict was laid to rest.
He stood, drawing Nabiki up with him. Slightly embarrassed, Ryoga reached
back behind his head and untied his bandanna. Folding it carefully, he
pressed the faded talisman into Nabiki's hands. Stepping back, he bowed low.
"Thank you."
With that, Ryoga turned and walked towards the gate, shoes crunching
in a soft symphony on the gravel of the path. Pushing open the wooden doors
with a creak, he stepped out and was gone.
Nabiki sat back down on the rock, dipping her toes into the water
of the pond. The sun was up, and the birds began to chirrup in unison with
the crickets in the weeds. Day was here, and the grey twilight hours were
a mere phantasm, gone like a wisp of smoke into the clear blue sky.
Nabiki's eyes were far away, and her hand clutched the yellow spotted
bandanna.
Ryoga walked. It wasn't that far, he was amazed that he had never
been able to find it. The few times he had been there, a single misstep had
usually deposited him far away, lost and alone again. Bitterly Ryoga had
accepted that he might never return here. And yet, here it was. Stepping
onto the path that led up to the front door, Ryoga scuffed his foot along
the familiar stones. The cherry tree that grew against the front of the
house was in bloom, and white petals littered the front step with fragrance.
Home.
Nervously, he slid the door open and stepped into the sunlit front
room. At the sound of his entrance, a voice drifted from the back of the
house.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
There was a quick thump of footsteps, and a tiny woman in a green
kimono appeared around the corner. Her hair was pulled back in a
businesslike bun, and she was holding a bunch of flowers, idly trimming the
ends. Feeling his presence, she glanced up. "May I help yo---" The
scissors fell to the floor from her suddenly open hands, followed by her
flowers, fluttering softly down in a rain of petals and stems.
Ryoga looked down at the floor, kicking one foot against the other.
Slowly he looked up, meeting his mother's look of amazement with glistening
eyes.
"Hello, mom. I've come home."
[Ryoga and his mother stand facing each other as they fade out and the
music begins.]
Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain't the same
Mama, I'm Coming Home
Times gone by seem to be
You could have been a better friend to me
Mama, I'm Coming Home
Took me in and you drove me out
Yeah, you had me hypnotized
Lost and found and turned around
By the fire in your eyes
You made me cry, told me lies
But, I can't stand to say goodbye
Mama, I'm Coming Home
I could be right, I could be wrong
Hurts so bad, it's been so long
Mama, I'm Coming Home
Selfish love yeah we're both alone
The ride before a fall
But I'm gonna take this heart of stone
I just got to have it all
I've seen your face a hundred times
Everyday we've been apart
I don't care about the sunshine, yeah
'Cause Mama, Mama, I'm Coming Home
I'm Coming Home...
"Mama, I'm Coming Home" by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Lemmy Kilmister
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Author's Notes:
This is probably the only time I will ever put song lyrics in a fic, but I
felt it was appropriate seeing that it was this song that inspired the whole
thing to begin with. See you down the road.
Ronin
msimmons@bcgroup.net
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/2506 -- Thirteen Moons