So, here's the next part, only two more to go before we get some
background in this thing! Wheee! C&C is humbly begged for.
Disclaimer: The playground is by Rumiko Takahashi, I'm only swinging on
the monkey bars. Remember to leave the grounds cleaner than you found
them and please don't feed the Troll.
/The Hunter and the Bear/ was picked up from Alan Cole and Chris Bunch,
and extensively filled out by me. If it originated with them, they
own whatever copyright exists. If it didn't, they don't. It was originally
told by Wee Alex, Laird Kilgour of Kilgour, who _may_ have Ranma beat in
cool, but who is nowhere near as cute.
*This is a sound.*
'This is a thought.'
_This is emphasis._
{This is a sign.}
<This is Chinese.>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
She could barely believe her luck. It had already been a day to
cherish forever in memory. First, she had been brave. Ranma-sempai
herself had said so. Not that she really believed that she had been
brave, as such. She had simply felt that something had needed to be
done, and then she had done it. Still, it had gotten her praise and
admiration, and Ranma-sempai had even thanked her for it, so ...
She had, however, discovered that it was far preferable to feel that
one had been brave than to feel brave in the current moment. The reason
being, being brave _now_ meant that something deeply unpleasant must,
by definition, be happening; whereas, on the other hand, _having been_
brave meant that the unpleasant thing must have been faced. And, of
course, overcome. (The narrator would like to note at this time that
the subject is, after all, only 17.)
Second, her newfound notoriety had gotten her a date! Which she was
just now returning from. And which had been really fun, too. Not as
good as it could have been, true, but the cute guy from class 3-C
had been able to afford a trip to a _good_ restaurant - a good _expens-
ive_ restaurant - and had spent most of the evening paying attention
to her. Even if it had only been so he could ask about Ranma. So, she
felt, the gates had been opened, and it was now possible that she might
achieve the lofty heights of Going Steady. Just as soon as she found
one of the boys at Furinkan who wasn't a jerk. She was sure there must
be _one_.
But third, ahh _third_, now there was the thing. The great thing.
The unalloyedly wonderful thing. For, walking home from her date, she
had passed a park. And her attention had been drawn to an area just
inside a screen of bush, she had made A Find. A wonderful find. She,
Asano Sayuri, Furinkan High Class 2-F, had found ... a puppy!
Stop snickering. Right now.
It was weak and half-starved, and very ragged looking, but she knew
that it would grow up fine and strong. It had weakly snapped at her
hand, but she knew that she would soon win its heart, and that it would
be loyal and true. Best of all, it was in the park unhelped by any but
herself, which meant it must be free for any who could aid and protect
it. And since it was obviously Greatly In Need, her parents would have,
could have, no objection to her keeping it.
Asano Sayuri, at heart, was a great romantic, who frequently viewed
the world through glasses not merely rose-colored, but actively rose-
projecting, and so she smiled and skipped slightly as she carried
home the wolf cub she had found. It would, she knew, be grand. And,
invisible to her view (since it was turned away from her), a tiny fleck
of green light flickered in one of the wolf cub's eyes, and then went
out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
And Kuno Kodachi sat quietly and watched her brother with what
passed, for her, with concern. He had been very different since yester-
day, and no previous simple beating had even enjoined such a result.
Also, she noticed, his sword was now securely locked in its sheath,
instead of displayed on its stand, as was proper.
Perhaps some spell had been cast on her idiotic older brother. Or
perhaps something else odd had occurred. In any case, she supposed, she
would have to check herself. Furinkan, bah! She had visited before, and
in the whole school there was no person of merit or spirit. No person
at all.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
And across Nerima a number of phone conversations burned late into
the night. They had been beaten. They had been disgraced and dishonored.
Moreover, some felt, they had deserved it. First, they had failed to
adequately take into account the proper considerations of a challenge,
and second, they had attempted to attack by surprise. A direct frontal
confrontation, it was agreed, would certainly lead to a restoration of
honor. In one sense or another.
And in a maison apartment on the outskirts of the district liquified
moonlight dripped, over a jade ring, into a silver pan. And the night
rolled on. And morning came.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ranma & Akane: A Love Story.
Chapter 3 :The Third Day
Part A: Point of Contact: The Hunter and the Bear
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bushiko Ranma exited her apartment with the rising of the sun above
the horizon of her window. Behind her she left her apartments just as
she had the day before, ahead of her was a wait of at least 30 minutes
before Akane would conceivably leave the Tendo Dojo for school. A half
hour of which she intended to make full use.
The basic problem, she reflected, was that she had very little
experience in dealing with the emotion of great happiness. The only
means of easily dealing with _any_ great emotion she had was to work
off the energy. Therefore ...
She leapt, touched one toe to the nearest roof and leapt again.
Spun in mid-air, turned a somersault, bounced off an air molecule,
touched a foot to a passing water-tower, backflipped 30 yards of
warehouse, touched down in a cartwheel, leapt again. Flickering from
foothold to toetouch, flashing from tower to wall, dancing across the
Neriman skyline, her only accompaniment the musical chiming of her own
delighted laughter, filling the air behind her progress with a chorus
as of silver bells.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ranma came down on Akane from out of the rising sun. Akane appre-
hended that Ranma's attack was not serious by the simple fact that it
was neither unblockable nor sufficiently forceful to break through
the defense she raised against it. Indeed Ranma nearly bounced off her
raised arm, transferring no force but achieving enough velocity to
bounce off a nearby fence in another attack. This sequence continued
with Akane blocking and Ranma delivering increasingly complex and more
difficult attacks, and coming increasingly closer to breaking past her
guard.
Akane's defensive maneuvers had drawn her farther and farther from her
beginning position next to Nabiki, to the point where her back was
almost against the fence by the side of the road. Then a sneaky rebound
off the fence behind her left her nowhere to go but up. She snap-jumped
to the top of the fence and was then forced repeatedly back, unable
to spare the attention needed to discover where she was but happy just
to have no more than one direction from which to expect attacks.
Akane was driven back more than sixty yards along the fence before
Ranma took pity and ceased her attacks. Akane stayed in a defensive
stance for another few seconds as Nabiki came running up with her mouth
open. "Akane! That was great! I didn't think anyone could move along
the top of a fence like that!"
Akane looked down, wavered, and wildly waved her arms in an attempt
to keep her balance, but succeeded only in falling off the inside of the
fence, onto the sidewalk, instead of the outside, into the stream.
Looking up from her position flat on her rump on the ground, Akane
observed Ranma covering her eyes and shaking her head, and Nabiki
shaking her whole body with barely restrained mirth. "And so gracefully
done, too", Ranma observed mildly.
"If you'd _told_ me I was on a fence _earlier_...", Akane complained.
"You'd have fallen off earlier, neh? It's often the case that the
body unconscious of its circumstances can do things it never could by
the will of the mind alone, but you don't often see it that clearly",
Ranma replied, still calmly. "And now, for your next trick, get back on
the fence."
"But, but, but ..."
"_Up_!"
Wobbling frantically, Akane attempted to keep her balance on the fence-
top. Then she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, steadying her
balance. Ranma turned to Nabiki, "Please excuse us Nabiki-san, and con-
tinue to school. I see that I have some training to accomplish, but
we'll be along shortly."
Akane gulped, and commended herself to the protection of the Kamis.
"Now, Akane, first we walk", beginning to do so, "and then we run."
Accelerating along the top of the fence, Ranma took a corner and left
Nabiki behind, pushing Akane along before her.
Akane observed the sharp-looking top of the fence vanishing beneath
her and quavered, "Wh-what happens if I lose my balance?"
"You get to drop your groin onto a sharp surface and hurt alot",
Ranma replied calmly. "I don't recommend it."
"Oh, fine!", Akane mumbled.
"And now we go faster."
"Help."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Returning to the straight track to Furinkan as they neared the
school, Ranma and Akane caught up to Nabiki just before they reached
the outer wall of the courtyard. Akane, Nabiki noticed, was looking
somewhat frazzled but bore no evidence of injury. Returning to the
sidewalk, the two walked alongside Nabiki as they entered the school-
yard, only to run into a wall of semi-determined male silliness. Perhaps
a dozen Furinkan students were lined up in the center of the yard, each
bearing some form of combat implement. The leader bowed to Ranma and
began to speak.
Ranma raised an eyebrow and interrupted. "Let me guess. You lads have
decided to go the formal challenge route."
"Err ... yes", the leader said uncertainly.
"Ah. Tell me", Ranma said, "have any of you gentlemen heard the story
of the Hunter and the Bear?"
General negation was expressed.
Ahh. So. It seems that once there was a man who was success-
ful in all his business and in his life. And he attributed his
success to the fact that he treated his life and his business
struggles as though they were hunts. And he proved his point by
referring to the trophies that he had accumulated down the years
he had hunted the valiant tiger, and the noble elephant, and
the ferocious cow. Yet, alas, his life was incomplete, and he
suffered sorely for the lack: for all the beasts he had hunted,
and all the trophies he had taken, he had never hunted _Bear_.
And so, one year in the summer of his life, when he had
grown weary of the games he played, he summoned his managers and
accountants and bade them take over all his enterprises and
companies and investments, and to keep them safe and prosperous
until it should again please him to exhibit his acumen, and
skill. And he gathered to himself, from the reserves of all his
possessions, a great store of treasure, and he set himself to
hunt the _Bear_ and to gain himself a rug. Or, as it might be,
a coat.
And he bought himself a most excellent rifle, such as he was
wont to use to take his prey. And he hired a famous hunting
guide to teach him of all the _Bear's_ habits and customs. And
he spent gold with a free hand to seek out all the information
and rumors that could be found concerning his victim-to-be. And
then he took ship for the far-away land where, it was said,
_Bear_ was to be found.
On arriving in that place he indulged in another week of
riotous living, such as he had done on shipboard: drinking fine
wines and liquors, romancing pretty, admiring, girls, eating
gourmet meals, and boasting to all and sundry of the glory he
was soon to win. Then he went into seclusion for a week, to
listen to the efforts of the priests he had paid to pray for
his success, and to watch the smoke rising from the sacrifices
of the costly treasures he had purchased specifically to win the
favor of the gods. And to drink only the finest of teas, made
only from the purest of water hand carried from the mountain
springs of its birth. And to eat only the newest and purest of
rice, prepared by the finest of chefs, and topped only by the
choicest of salted bream, and fugu, and squid from the deepest
part of the ocean. And to spend much time in the hottest saunas,
thinking pure thoughts, while pretty, naked, girls attended him,
striking him on the back with birch branches to drive all im-
purities and poisons from his pores. And in various other such
manners to strengthen his body, and to focus his mind, and to
commend his success to all the relevant gods.
And then, one morning, he picked up his weapon, and had a
fine hunting lunch packed, and traveled forth into the wide
world beyond the hunting lodge. He traveled to a secluded hide,
above a descending slope which overlooked a brushy expanse of
valley, where there were bushes of berries, and a swift flowing
stream filled with fish. And where there was known to be _Bear_.
And after he had waited for an hour or two, drinking the
nourishing drink with which he was equipped and nibbling on the
many snacks which had been provided in his bento, along the
open space in the vale below him came that which he had jour-
neyed so far and through such hardships to match himself
against: a _Bear_. It was plodding unconcernedly along, eating
berries from the bushes and considering, perhaps, a main course
of fish.
He observed it through the excellent telescopic sight on his
rifle, sniffling a little at the sad fate that awaited such a
magnificent specimen. Almost, almost, he abandoned his sniper's
rest and descended to meet the great beast, to face it in hand-
to-claw combat from a short distance, say 100 yards or so, to be
more sporting. But no, he hardened himself to pity and thought
that if the beast had desired a sporting chance, it should have
worked to make one, as he had. And he settled the sights on the
broad shoulder displayed before him, and he nestled the stock
gently into his shoulder, and he stroked the trigger, and the
rifle barked its song of death.
And below him, in the valley, the great _Bear_ shook its
head, and stumbled, and fell, very slowly, to its side, and lay
still, dead.
And he rose from the blind where he had waited, and observed
the trophy below him, and saw in it all that he had worked for.
And descended the slope before him, to claim it. Down he went,
planning in his mind what he would do with the trophy so dearly
won, and how it would be displayed. And he reached the bottom
of the ridge, and broke through the brushy screen, and found
there bushes full of berries, and a stream full of fish, but
no _Bear_, nor corpse of _Bear_, and no sign that ever one had
been in that place ever at all.
frantically now he cast about, searching for any clue as to
where his trophy had gone, or who had taken it. And he strode
forward into the middle of the vale, running to where he had
seen the great carcass fall, but no carcass, nor sign of such,
nor footprint, nor mark, nor any other clue at all did he find.
And then something tapped him on the shoulder.
And then he turned around.
And there before him, rising up in majesty and wrath, with
fur stained by the blood of its victims, with rolling eye and
roaring growl, stood _Bear_. And its terrible claws were long
and crusted with red. And its awful teeth were sharp and keen.
And it towered over him like a cliff above a shaking mouse.
And then his courage failed him, and he dropped his rifle,
and waited tremblingly to die.
And then he heard a voice, a terrible and growling voice, the
voice of _Bear_! And it said, "Now lad, if y' want tae live,
ye'll be droppin yer trousies and turnin aroun', an' I'll be
performin' a disgustin' sexual act upon yer trembling bod!"
And the man winced, and *yerked* and *yaaghed*, but the
_Bear_ was terrible, and its claws were sharp, and so....
And so he dropped his trousers, and turned around ... and
that's it, that's all, but later, dragging back to the lodge,
he resolved that he should leave his properties and investments
in the hands of his managers and retire to a monastery, to
mortify his flesh, and apologize to the gods for his pollution.
But first, _first_ he would return to this place and destroy
the _Bear_, and use its skin for a rug to sit on in the monast-
ery, and to warm his backside as he begged for alms. And he
would spend all his wealth and treasure, if necessary, to attain
that end. After all, what use would it now be to him?
And so he returned to his homeland by the fastest jet avail-
able, and threw all the resources of his great empire into his
one overriding goal. And he caused to be designed a rifle, a
weapon so advanced that it could have destroyed a squadron of
tanks in one burst, whose merest glancing blow would blow a hole
three feet wide through battleship armor, which was so accurate
that the veriest novice could use it to blow in half a fly three
miles off, and hit both halves as they fell. And he trained with
it, and hired the world's greatest marksman, and its most
accomplished tracker, and its foremost animal scientist, all to
explain to him, and to design a plan to bring the fearful beast
to its end. And he gave them all they required, and built and
strove all as they said.
And then, again in spring, he again traveled to that far-
away land, and prayed and sacrificed, and took his weapon, and
all his devices and schemes, and went forth to the ridge above
the valley, to meet his nemesis again. And he set all his traps
and devices in the valley below, disguising all his scent and
sign, that the beast might not be disturbed in its progress.
And again he took up a position in a hide on the ridge, and
again he waited for the _Bear_.
And again time passed, and again the _Bear_ came along the
stream in the valley below. And again he sighted his weapon,
but no pity or moment of grace stayed his hand this time! And
again he stroked the trigger, and again the rifle roared. And
all the traps, and nets, and devices activated, blew up or
fired at once. And when the smoke had cleared the bruin lay,
not merely killed, but torn into a thousand pieces, pierced,
burned, strewn about the ground.
And again he raced down the slope, and took his weapon with
him. And he anticipated, as he ran, how he would dance upon the
_Bear's_ carcass when he reached it, how he would make a common
pillow from the largest scrap of its hide, how he would piss
on the barren place where he would burn the rest of its rotten,
stinking corpse.
And again he reached the bottom of the ridge, and broke the
line of the brush before the valley floor. And again he found
there bushes full of berries, and a stream full of fish, but
again he found no _Bear_.
And again he searched the little valley, weapon held low
and fierce before him, ready for any movement.
And again something tapped him on the shoulder.
And again he turned around.
And again before him, rising up in terrible, monstrous form,
with blood-stained fur, and flashing eye and thunderous growl,
stood _Bear_. And its claws were long and sharp, and dripped
with clotted gore. And its teeth were keen and clouded with
the red tinged saliva that its twisting neck scattered near and
far. And it towered above him and its dark shadow blinded him.
And again his courage failed him, and again he dropped his
weapon, and prayed for the death he once had feared.
And again he heard the voice, a terrible voice of his shame,
the voice of _Bear_! And it said, "Now lad, if it's tae live y'
want, ye'll be bendin' doon, and openin' yer maw, and ye'll be
performin' a disgustin' sexual act upon me!"
And again he wailed, and prayed that the test might pass, but
the _Bear_ was strong, and its terrible fangs dripped blood-
tinged drool. And he wished for death, but not like that. And
so, finally, he bent down, and ... and that's all, but later,
again returning weeping to the lodge, he decided.
Corrupt he was, and impure, and damned for a coward. He
would endow monasteries and temples, he would give all his
wealth to charity and good works, and then he would find some
active volcano, and throw himself in, and remove his pollution
from the circles of the world.
But first, _first_, FIRST! Without fear, without possibility
of failure, without reprieve.
The.
_Bear_.
_Must_.
_Die!_
And so he again returned to his homeland, and spent gold like
water in his quest. He acquired the perfect rifle, the highest
product of the world's best gunsmith's art. He went alone into
the wilderness with his weapon and the collected wisdom of the
world in regard to _Bears_, their habits, and all that related,
or had ever related to them. And in the wilderness, in practice
with the rifle, and the bear-spear, and in communion with all
that the world knew of _Bear_, he planned and plotted and grew
in skill, until he was, without question, the very best, most
knowledgable and most skillful hunter of _Bear_ that there had
ever been.
And then, in fall, when _Bears_ are fat and somnolent,
_again_ he traveled to that land, and _again_ he prayed and
sacrificed. And _again_ he took his rifle, and added to it his
spear, and _again_ he went forth to the ridge above the valley.
And _again_ he took up a position in a blind on the ridge, and
_again_ he waited for the _Bear_.
And _again_ time passed, and _again_ the _Bear_ came along
the stream in the valley below. And _again_ he sighted his
weapon, and _again_ he stroked the trigger, and _again_ the
rifle sang. And again the missile flew straight, and struck its
target directly on. And _again_ the great head shook, and
_again_ the great legs stumbled, and _again_ the great beast
fell.
And _again_ he raced down the slope, and _again_ he took his
his rifle, and also he took his spear. And _again_ he reached
the bottom of the ridge, and broke the line of the brush before
the valley floor. And _again_ he found there bushes full of
berries, and a stream full of fish, but _again_ he found no
_Bear_.
And _again_ he searched the valley.
And _again_ something tapped him on the shoulder.
And _again_ he turned around.
And _again_ before him, stood the _Bear_. And _again_ its
claws were long and sharp, and _again_ its teeth were keen, and
_again_ its mouth dripped bloody drool. And _again_ it towered
above him and _again_ its dark shadow blinded him.
And _again_ his courage failed him, and _again_ he dropped
his weapons, and _again_ he prayed for the death knew he would
not find.
And _again_ he heard the voice, the terrible voice of _Bear_!
And it said, "Now lad, ye did nae come here frae the huntin',
did ye?"
Ranma's voice on the last question had become soft and gentle. And
she looked upon the white-faced boys huddling before her, and bestowed
on them a smile. A gentle smile. A kind and sweet smile. An angelic
smile.
And the last remnant of the Fight at Furinkan, pale and shaking,
turned away from the terrible figure they had sought to challenge, and
stumbled weeping up the steps. And divided themselves among their
several classes, where they sat huddled and still all the rest of the
day. And where no-one spoke of the story, or of the Fight. Not that day,
nor for a long time to come.
And Ranma and Akane, arms linked, and voices rising to the brilliant
cerulean sky, walked up the stairs behind them, singing.
When he was fast asleep, hey do me harity
When he was fast asleep, me being young,
When he was fast asleep, I from his side did creep,
Into the arms of a handsome young man!
Now he's got Faloorum, Faleerum, Fallorum,
Now he's got Fallorum, Faleerum, Falaay!
Now he's got Fallorum, he's got a Ding-Doorum,
Maids, when you're young, never wed an old man!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
She had woken with the new day and prepared for school. Then she
had gone to the room where the puppy had slept, to see its progress for
herself. Now she knew, she had made a mistake, a dreadful mistake, the
previous day. Now, she knew, she must be brave, and even bravery would
do no good for her. But it still might serve another. And so she
clutched the twisted, claw like hand that held her throat with both her
own. And so she looked up into the eyes, burning with a green internal
fire, of the 7 foot, near skeletal, black-robed figure that held her
fast. And so she saw the twisted, part wolf, part fox, part feline, all
terrible face of the being before her, and recognized in it the remnant
of the puppy she had found.
And so she heard it ask, in a horrible, pain-wracked, voice, as
twisted as itself, for information about _Ranma_. And so she was brave,
and made no sound. And she heard the horrified shriek, and saw, through
a sudden twilight, her mother standing in the doorway, aghast. And then
the night came down.
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Next: Who is the wolf-demon? What is he doing in Nerima? Why is he
looking for Ranma? Will they fight? (Alright, so that last was a
stupid question.)
Join us next time for a fight to the finish, and the fate of Asano
Sayuri, when the FFML hosts
Ranma and Akane: A Love Story.
Chapter 3: The Third Day.
Part B: Breaching the Wall: A Game of Wolf and Dragon.
Eric Hallstrom hallcon@mindspring.com