Attached here are Scenes 41 and 42 of Spreading Wings.
C&C Welcome.
I have not worked on the web site. I am on roll with the writing of this
thing and have therefore been very reluctant to stop advancing the
story. What comes out of these efforts is rough draft and requires
editing, so there is a little lag between my writing new stuff and
getting it posted. Thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Don Granberry.
Most of the characters in this piece and the setting for it, were
conceived of by Rumiko Takahashi for her Ranma1/2 series of Manga. All
such characters and the setting are the property of Takahashi-san and
her licensees. All other characters in the piece are purely fictional
and any resemblences to actual persons living or dead are purely
coincidental.
Spreading Wings
Part I: The Burning Ring of Fire
Scenes 41 and 42
Nabiki charged up Forges Street at the sound of Westerlake's
bellow, causing the mechanics at both the body shop and the engine
repair shop to stop what they were doing and stare after her. Just as
she reached a point a block and a half away, Westerlake came pounding
around the corner and tore on down the street after the rapidly
departing Nabiki.
"Hey! Did you see that?"
"I sure did!"
"See what?" A third mechanic asked.
"Some guy just ran through here chasing Nabiki Tendo."
"So who cares?" The third man said sarcastically.
"Well maybe if we rescue her she'll give us break on our interest
rates."
The men immediately took off after the big gaijin shouting
threats at him. This attracted more attention from the other shops along
Forges Street. In mere minutes every one of the shops emptied of working
stiffs, all of them intent on apprehending Nabiki's pursuer and gaining
her favor. This crowd carried considerably more weight than Happosai's
swarm of angry school girls. They were roughly shod and armed with a
variety of lethal implements, including shop hammers, long handled
sledge hammers, shovels, picks and a variety of sizeable spanner
wrenches. The entire parade, with Nabiki well in the lead, clanked,
rattled and cursed its way northwards along Forges Street, continuing to
increase in size as it approached Sales Street.
---------
Kakuji Tanaka lay face down on the cold, wet pavement of Sales
Street seeing stars and unable to move for several vital seconds.
Everytime he did try to move the ends of his broken collarbone rubbing
together made him stop. He was not however, a total stranger to pain and
the control of it. He managed to roll onto his back just in time to see
the approach of Happosai's pursuers. Their faces were fierce. They were
snarling and shrieking. Their eyes wide with blood lust. The confines of
the very narrow Sales Street had them pressed together shoulder to
shoulder and their broom and mop handles rattled against one another
like the horns of stampeding cattle. Suddenly, Tanaka realized that a
good many of the girls were wearing cleated track shoes. He tried to
cover his face with his arms but the pain in his shoulder was too much.
"Aaaiii!" Tanaka screamed in agony, as the angry storm of outrage
entrained by the bouncing Happosai engulfed him. Shoes and more shoes!
Spikes and heel taps, edges sharp from wear! They hammered him. They
trod upon him. They stabbed and tore at his clothes and flesh. The hard,
stiff butt of a mop handle gouged his forehead just above his left eye
creating a huge, bleeding knot. Then they were gone.
Tanaka knew that he had to get out of the street. He had to find
help and soon. He struggled through the pain until he was on his feet.
He staggered eastwards along Sales Street, hoping to make his way to the
hideout. Staggering and weaving from the pain, Tanaka collided with the
light pole on the corner of Sales and Market. He staggered backwards a
few steps, then unwittingly staggered northwards on Market. He fell and
crawled several times, forcing himself to get back on his feet each
time. He thought he was still heading east on Sales, until he reached
the intersection at Rice. He realized that he was in more trouble as he
looked to his right, only to find himself face to face with the bounding
Happosai. The old man had gone one block further east than he had
planned after downing Tanaka, now he was leading his swarm west, back to
Canal Street.
"Out of the way, fool!" The old man yelled into Tanaka's face as
he waved his ancient pipe.
Tanaka was not sure how or why, but knew that he was spinning
head over heels through the air. He watched in horror as the cold,
hard, wet pavement drew closer and closer until suddenly he was seeing
stars again. Tanaka desperately tried to control his pain. With the all
the effort he could muster from every fiber of his being, he forced
himself to roll over onto his back. His feet were pointed east along
Rice. He raised his head just in time to see Happosai's angry swarm.
"Aaaiii!" Tanaka screamed. Shoes and more shoes! Cleats and taps!
Agony! Oh, the pain! The butt of a broom handle found his solar plexus.
He writhed upon the wet asphalt, trying to get his breath after the
girls passed on by. They left behind them the sweet smell of prefume to
mix with the brassy taste of blood and fear in his mouth. He opened his
eyes to stare through a pink haze and realized he was looking at two of
his own teeth lying on the wet asphalt. The blood that had spilt out of
him thinned slowly as the drizzle spread it out on the cold pavement.
Tanaka crawled southwards on Market until he reached the light
pole at the intersection at Sales Street. He used the light pole to pull
himself to his feet. Staggering out into the middle of Sales he wove his
way east still trying to reach the hideout. Just half a block west of
the intersection of Forges and Sales, Tanaka was greeted by the sight of
the fleet footed Nabiki Tendo as she made a left turn and sped westwards
towards him on Sales. Even in his badly battered condition, Tanaka could
not help but admire her dancing breasts and the rippling muscles in her
long, flashing legs. He turned as she ran past him and stared
appreciatively after her as she ran west on Sales Street towards Canal.
Something struck him hard from behind on his left shoulder,
spinning Tanaka like a top.
"Sorry!" someone yelled.
To Tanaka's pleasure and amazement, he was still on his feet and
facing east when he stopped spinning. His pleasure turned into abject
horror as the front ranks of the working stiffs pursuing Westerlake
rounded the corner of Forges and Sales. They were growling and their
big, heavy boots pounded the wet pavement with meaty, life threatening
smacks. Their eyes were cast hard into determined glares and Tanaka knew
they were not going to pass him politely. Tanaka opened his mouth to
scream but never got it out. They gathered him into their arms and
carried him westwards along Sales Street, beating him and poking him
with their hammer handles and wrenches as they passed his aching body
backwards through their ranks. He was halfway through the angry mob of
slavering men when someone yelled, "To hell with him! We're after the
other one, you dipshits!"
Tanaka fell hard on the pavement. Actually, he hit the pavement
very hard two or three times. The mob's heavily shod feet were
merciless. So were their axe handles, pick handles, shovels and fists.
Some of the men actually bit him.
Tanaka found himself face down upon the cold pavement again, his head
pointed west, towards Canal Street. He forced his head up and lost some
more skin from his nose and forehead so that he could see where he was.
He was in the middle of Sales Street, right in front of the cinema.
Small stones on the pavement gritted under his chin. He was greeted
through the bloody haze in his eyes by the sight of a bouncing Happosai,
just then making a left turn off of Canal onto Sales. Tanaka closed his
eyes and waited for more pain but nothing happened. The old man left
Tanaka unmolested and passed overhead with one of his three meter high
bounces. Tanaka opened his eyes and gasped. There they were again!
Their faces were fierce! Their teeth were bared! They screeched
and screamed as they rounded the corner onto Sales. Their cleats and
taps made the sound of some new kind of horrible, yakuza grinding
machine as they sought purchase on the wet asphalt. Their mop and broom
handles rattled nastily in the misty rain. Their eyes were wide with
blood lust!
"Okaaasaaa!" Tanaka screamed, "Okaaasaaaa!"
Tanaka continued to scream out for his mother as the seething
cataract of green poured over him.
"Okaasa! Oookaaasaaa! Okaasaa!"
Finally there was silence save for Tanaka's whimpering and the
dripping of collected rain from the roof tops. The theater manager and
one of his ushers rushed out into the street. The manager knelt by
Tanaka's twitching body and gently rolled him over onto his back.
"Okaasa!" Tanaka said with a whimper, "Okaasa."
"There, there now," the theater manager said in soothing tones,
"You'll be all right."
"Okaasa," Tanaka said as tears streaked the partially congealed
blood on his face.
"Get his feet," the manager said.
"Okaasa," Tanaka said again.
"Shh! Everything is going to be just fine!" the theater manager
said with huge smile as he and the usher gently lifted Tanaka,
"Everything is going to be just fine."